Events at Physics |
The shape of the gradient is obviously important in this process, and this shape is determined by the way the morphogens move and degrade in the cell. While different degradation processes have been considered in the literature, the motion of the morphogens is almost always assumed to be diffusive in spite of the barriers and traps presented by the crowded cellular environment. We explore the consequences of subdiffusive motion, that is, morphogen motion that is impeded by the obstacles in the environment. We conclude that morphogen concentration profiles are very sensitive not only to the details of the degradation process but also to the morphogen motion.