New insights into microtubule structure and function from the atomic model of tubulin

The structure of tubulin has recently been solved by electron crystallography of zinc-induced tubulin sheets. Because tubulin was studied in a polymerized state, the model contains information on the interactions between monomers that give rise to the alpha beta dimer as well as contacts between adjacent dimers that result in the structure of the protofilament. The model includes the binding site of taxol, an anti-cancer agent that acts by stabilizing microtubules. The present tubulin model gives the first structural framework for understanding microtubule polymerization and its regulation by nucleotides and anti-mitotic drugs at the molecular level.