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Gamma-tubulin complexes and their interaction with microtubule-organizing centers
1Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 115 West University Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA. wiese@mail1.ciwemb.edu
Abstract:
Gamma-tubulin is as ubiquitous in eukaryotes as alpha- and beta-tubulin. Rather than forming part of the microtubule wall, however, gamma-tubulin is involved in microtubule nucleation. Although gamma-tubulin concentrates at microtubule-organizing centers, it also exists in a cytoplasmic complex whose size and complexity depends on the organism and cell type. In the past year, progress in understanding the functions of gamma-tubulin was made on two fronts: identifying the proteins that interact with gamma-tubulin and identifying the proteins that interact with the gamma-tubulin complex to tether it to the microtubule-organizing center.