tɹˈɛdmɪlɪŋ ɪz ɪnɪfˈɪʃənt, ænd fɔːɹ mˌaɪkɹoʊtˈuːbjuːlz æt stˈɛdi stˈeɪt: ðə wˈɛɡnɚɹ ˈɛsvˈæljuː wˈʌn ðə ɹᵻsˈɪpɹəkəl ʌvðə nˈʌmbɚɹ ʌv məlˈɛkjʊlɚɹ ᵻvˈɛnts ɹᵻkwˈaɪɚd fɚðə nˈɛt ˈʌpteɪk əvə sˈʌbjuːnˌɪt ɪz ˈiːkwəl tə zˈiəɹoʊ.zˈiəɹoʊzˈiəɹoʊzˈiəɹoʊfˈaɪv dˈæʃ zˈiəɹoʊ.zˈiəɹoʊzˈiəɹoʊ wˈʌn; ˈaɪ.ˈiː., ɪt ɹᵻkwˈaɪɚz wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ᵻvˈɛnts.
Treadmilling is inefficient, and for microtubules at steady state: the Wegner s-value1 (the reciprocal of the number of molecular events required for the net uptake of a subunit) is equal to 0.0005-0.001; i.e., it requires >1000 events.