Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
12:55
Assay for Phosphorylation and Microtubule Binding Along with Localization of Tau Protein in Colorectal Cancer Cells
Published on: October 10, 2017
Lithium decreases cold-induced microtubule depolymerization in mesophyll cells of spinach
1Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108.
Plant Physiology
|August 1, 1992
Summary
Environmental stresses like freezing can depolymerize spinach microtubules. Lithium treatment suggests depolymerization may be an indirect response to cellular changes, not direct cold lability.
Area of Science:
- Plant cell biology
- Environmental stress physiology
Background:
- Microtubules in spinach mesophyll cells depolymerize under freezing, dehydration, and supercooling.
- The direct vs. indirect nature of this depolymerization response to stress is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether microtubule depolymerization is a direct response to environmental stresses or an indirect consequence of cellular changes.
- To elucidate the mechanism underlying microtubule stability in spinach under low-temperature stress.
Main Methods:
- Spinach leaf sections were treated with lithium ions (Li+) before and during low-temperature exposure.
- Microtubule depolymerization was assessed in Li+-treated and untreated control groups.
Main Results:
- Lithium treatment significantly reduced microtubule depolymerization in cells exposed to low temperatures compared to controls.
- This indicates that microtubules may not be inherently sensitive to cold.
Conclusions:
- Microtubule depolymerization under low-temperature stress in spinach appears to be an indirect response.
- Cold-induced alterations in cytoplasmic component concentrations likely trigger microtubule depolymerization, rather than the cold itself.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Drugs that Destabilize Microtubules
Microtubules are dynamic structures and can be regulated by microtubule targeting agents (MTAs). Microtubule destabilizing drugs are a class of MTAs that destabilize and prevent microtubules' polymerization. Both natural and synthetic chemicals can be found under this class of drugs. Vincristine and vinblastine, two vinca alkaloids, and colchicine were among the first to be discovered. These drugs can affect cells in various ways, either by inducing a change in cell morphology, preventing...
01:15Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules
Microtubules are dynamic structures that undergo cycles of catastrophe and rescue. The microtubules play a central role in cell division by forming the spindle apparatus for segregating the chromosomes. This makes them ideal targets for regulating dividing cells in tumors and malignant cancer cells. Microtubule stabilizing drugs help stabilize the microtubule formation and promote its polymerization. Paclitaxel was the first microtubule stabilizing agent used as anticancer drug in chemotherapy...
02:45Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
01:45Destabilization of Microtubules
The destabilization of microtubules can occur during different stages of the microtubule lifecycle, such as nucleation or elongation. It can take place at either end of the microtubule or in the microtubule lattices as a whole. The lifespan of individual microtubules within a cell varies according to the cell type and stage of the cell cycle. During interphase, the lifespan of the microtubule is about 30 minutes, while during cell division, it is about 15 minutes. In axonal microtubules of...
01:02Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition
Microtubules are small hollow tubes in eukaryotic cells. The cell wall microtubules are polymerized dimers of two globular proteins, α-tubulin and β-tubulin, two globular proteins. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the widest components of the cytoskeleton. They help the cell resist compression and provide a track along which vesicles move through the cell or pull replicated chromosomes to opposite ends of a dividing cell. Microtubules go through quick cycles of disassembly and...