Components of microtubular structures in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Most studies of cytoskeletal organelles have concentrated on molecular analyses of abundant and biochemically accessible structures. In many of the classical cases, however, the nature of the system chosen has precluded a concurrent genetic analysis. The mitotic spindle of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one example of an organelle that can be studied by both classical and molecular genetics. We show here that this microtubule structure also can be examined biochemically. The spindle can be isolated by selective extractions of yeast cells by using adaptations of methods successfully applied to animal cells. In this way, microtubule-associated proteins of the yeast spindle are identified.