Fig. 5.
Theoretical calculations of the tubule shape and energy (D1/D2 = 1/3, d = 0.1D1). (A) The contours of NT (blue) connecting the end-rings 1 and 2 separated by L = 0.6Lc; two catenoidal “wings” (l1 and l2) and the cylindrical tether (lcyl) are seen. (B) Energy (E) of WT (black curve, triangles), NT (blue curve, diamonds), and unstable catenoid (red curve, circles). The energy is normalized to the total energy of two circular planar bilayer membranes covering end-rings (E′). Calculated 3D images of WT (shapes 1, 2, and 3), NT (shapes 4, 5, and 6), and unstable catenoid (shapes 6, 7, and 3) are shown for lc, 0.4Lc and Lc. Note that WT at Lc is an unstable catenoid (shape 3); NT at lc is also an unstable catenoid (shape 6). Arrows indicate transitions between WT and NT. (C) The dependence of Lc on the end-ring diameters (D1 and D2); circles, experiment; line, theory. (Inset) The dependence of the lc on d for D1/D2 = 50.
