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Related Experiment Videos

Microtubule dynamics and microtubule caps: a time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy study.

E M Mandelkow1, E Mandelkow, R A Milligan

  • 1Max-Planck-Unit for Structural Molecular Biology, Hamburg, Germany.

The Journal of Cell Biology
|September 1, 1991
PubMed
Summary

Microtubules switch between growing and shrinking, a process called dynamic instability. Time-resolved cryo-EM reveals shrinking microtubules release tubulin oligomers and undergo conformational changes at their ends.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Structural Biology

Background:

  • Microtubules exhibit dynamic instability, switching between growth and shrinkage.
  • Synchronized microtubule dynamics can lead to bulk oscillations.
  • The structural basis of these transitions is debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the structural mechanisms underlying microtubule dynamic instability.
  • Address the role of tubulin subunits and oligomers in microtubule dynamics.
  • Determine the conformational changes at microtubule ends during growth-to-shrinkage transitions.

Main Methods:

  • Time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM).
  • Examination of growing, shrinking, and oscillating microtubules.

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Main Results:

  • Oscillating microtubules coexist with significant tubulin oligomers.
  • Microtubule disassembly primarily occurs via the release of oligomers.
  • Growing microtubule ends feature straight protofilaments, while shrinking ends show inward-coiled protofilaments.

Conclusions:

  • Microtubule disassembly involves oligomer release.
  • A conformational transition from a tense to a relaxed state occurs at microtubule ends.
  • This conformational change may play a role in cellular processes like chromosome movement.