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Microtubules are thick hollow cylindrical proteins that help form the cytoskeleton. Microtubules have varied roles in the cell. These filaments help form cellular appendages like cilia and flagella, which are responsible for locomotion. The cilia arise from basal bodies, separated from the main body by a membrane-like structure forming the transition zone. This zone is the gate for the entry of lipids and proteins, creating a unique composition of lipids and proteins in the ciliary membrane and...
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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...
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Updated: May 15, 2025

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Alpha-tubulin tails regulate axoneme differentiation.

Ming Li1,2,3,4,5, Zhe Chen1,2,3,4,5, Zhengyang Guo1,2,3,4,5

  • 1Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|April 8, 2025
PubMed
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Removing the alpha-tubulin tail from microtubules in C. elegans caused abnormal structure formation. This reveals the unique role of tubulin tails in maintaining microtubule organization and function.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Structural Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Microtubules (MTs) are crucial cellular components involved in various functions.
  • Tubulin tails are key elements for MT functionality, but their specific roles are obscured by gene redundancy.
  • Sensory cilia possess axonemes with distinct MT arrangements in their middle and distal segments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific physiological functions of tubulin C-terminal tails in C. elegans.
  • To determine the unique contributions of alpha- and beta-tubulin tails to microtubule organization within sensory cilia.

Main Methods:

  • Genetic manipulation in C. elegans to excise C-terminal tails of alpha- and beta-tubulin genes.
  • Analysis of microtubule structure in sensory cilia using electron microscopy.
  • Molecular dynamics simulations to model tubulin tail interactions.
  • In vitro experiments with recombinant tubulins to assess doublet MT formation.

Main Results:

  • Excision of alpha-tubulin tails, but not beta-tubulin tails, led to ectopic doublet MT formation in distal ciliary segments.
  • Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that alpha-tubulin tails may prevent B-tubule docking onto A-tubule.
  • In vitro studies confirmed that removing alpha-tubulin tails promotes doublet MT formation.

Conclusions:

  • Tubulin tails play vital and unique roles in maintaining the structural integrity of axoneme microtubules.
  • The alpha-tubulin tail specifically is essential for accurate microtubule organization in ciliary distal segments.