Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 1, 2026
08:49
Self-Assembly of Microtubule Tactoids
Published on: June 23, 2022
4.4K
Lattice defects induce microtubule self-renewal
Laura Schaedel1, Sarah Triclin1, Denis Chrétien2
1Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, CEA, CNRS, INRA, Biosciences & Biotechnology Institute of Grenoble, Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire & Végétale, CytoMorpho Lab, 38054 Grenoble, France.
Nature Physics
|December 24, 2019
Summary
Thermal forces can remodel the microtubule shaft, challenging its perceived stability. This suggests microtubule lattice dynamics extend beyond their extremities, involving structural defects and a passive breathing mechanism.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
- Structural Biology
Background:
- Microtubules are essential cytoskeletal polymers.
- They exhibit dynamic growth and shrinkage at their ends (extremities).
- The microtubule shaft is typically viewed as a stable, ordered lattice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the dynamics of the microtubule shaft.
- To determine if thermal forces can induce changes in the microtubule shaft structure.
- To explore the mechanisms underlying microtubule shaft remodeling.
Main Methods:
- Combined experimental data analysis.
- Numerical simulations of lattice dynamics.
- Investigation of structural defects and dislocations.
Main Results:
- Thermal forces are sufficient to remodel the microtubule shaft.
- Tubulin dimers can spontaneously exchange within the lattice at structural defects.
- A passive breathing mechanism at dislocations initiates lattice dynamics.
Conclusions:
- The microtubule shaft is not a passive material but exhibits dynamic remodeling.
- Dissipative dynamics, previously confined to microtubule extremities, may apply to the entire shaft.
- Structural defects play a crucial role in microtubule shaft dynamics.
Related Concept Videos
02:17Microtubule Instability
5.9K
Microtubules are hollow cylindrical filaments having a diameter of approximately 25 nm and a length that varies from 200 nm to 25 μm. GTP-bound tubulin subunits form αβ-heterodimers for microtubule assembly. These core building blocks interact longitudinally, polymerizing into protofilaments. The protofilaments then interact with one another through lateral bonding forces to form stable cylindrical microtubules. These cylindrical filaments are dynamic as they undergo repeated...
5.9K
01:45Destabilization of Microtubules
3.4K
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...
3.4K
01:15Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules
2.5K
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...
2.5K
01:23Microtubule Formation
7.3K
Microtubules are dynamic structures that undergo continuous assembly and disassembly. They originate from specialized multi-protein complexes known as microtubule organizing centers or MTOCs. Within the MTOC, the point of origin of the microtubule is known as the minus end, while the end radiating outward is the plus end. Microtubules serve two primary functions — the organization of spindle complexes to separate sister chromatids during mitotic or meiotic cell division and the formation...
7.3K
01:32Assembly of Complex Microtubule Structures
2.4K
Complex microtubule structures are present in resting cells and in dividing cells. In resting cells, they are responsible for maintaining the cellular architecture, tracks for intracellular transport, positioning of organelles, assembly of cilia and flagella. They mediate the bipolar spindle assembly for chromosomal segregation and positioning of the cell division plate in dividing cells. The formation of microtubule complex structures depends on the cell type, cell stage, and cell function.
2.4K
01:39Anaphase A and B
5.3K
Microtubules form through the end-to-end polymerization of tubulin heterodimers. Kinetochore microtubules originate from the spindle poles, and their plus-ends connect with the kinetochores on sister-chromatids. Ndc80 protein complexes, present on the kinetochore, form low-affinity links with the plus end of these kinetochore microtubules.
Plus-end depolymerization releases tubulin heterodimers from the terminal region of the microtubule. As tubulin subunits are lost, the Ndc80 complexes detach...
Plus-end depolymerization releases tubulin heterodimers from the terminal region of the microtubule. As tubulin subunits are lost, the Ndc80 complexes detach...
5.3K