Toward a computer-aided methodology for topology-based simulation of the Golgi apparatus

The Golgi apparatus is the place in the cell where proteins re main for a maturation phase before their excretion. Several hypotheses on its dynamics have been formulated under the form of schematic models. The GolgiTop working group initiated by the Epigenomics Project (Genopole, Evry) aims at studying the 3-dimensional structure and dynamics of the Golgi apparatus by building 3D structures with the help of computer graphics tools and by animating them using transformation rules which depend on topological, geometric and/or biochemical data. Finally, we introduce a first proposition for a computer-aided methodology for helping biologists to understand and choose hypotheses about the topology and dynamics of the Golgi apparatus.