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Ectopic A-lattice seams destabilize microtubules

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  • Miho Katsuki

    (Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick
    Present address: RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Division of Genomic Technologies, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan)

  • Douglas R. Drummond

    (Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick)

  • Robert A. Cross

    (Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick)

Abstract

Natural microtubules typically include one A-lattice seam within an otherwise helically symmetric B-lattice tube. It is currently unclear how A-lattice seams influence microtubule dynamic instability. Here we find that including extra A-lattice seams in GMPCPP microtubules, structural analogues of the GTP caps of dynamic microtubules, destabilizes them, enhancing their median shrinkage rate by >20-fold. Dynamic microtubules nucleated by seeds containing extra A-lattice seams have growth rates similar to microtubules nucleated by B-lattice seeds, yet have increased catastrophe frequencies at both ends. Furthermore, binding B-lattice GDP microtubules to a rigor kinesin surface stabilizes them against shrinkage, whereas microtubules with extra A-lattice seams are stabilized only slightly. Our data suggest that introducing extra A-lattice seams into dynamic microtubules destabilizes them by destabilizing their GTP caps. On this basis, we propose that the single A-lattice seam of natural B-lattice MTs may act as a trigger point, and potentially a regulation point, for catastrophe.

Suggested Citation

  • Miho Katsuki & Douglas R. Drummond & Robert A. Cross, 2014. "Ectopic A-lattice seams destabilize microtubules," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms4094
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4094
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