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Cited by 174Microtubule and mitosis dynamicsGenetic and Kidney Cyst DiseasesCancer Treatment and Pharmacology

A microtubule bestiary: structural diversity in tubulin polymers

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Chaaban, Sami, Brouhard, Gary J.·2017·Molecular Biology of the Cell
DOI 10.1091/mbc.e16-05-0271PMC PMC5662251
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Abstract

Microtubules are long, slender polymers of αβ-tubulin found in all eukaryotic cells. Tubulins associate longitudinally to form protofilaments, and adjacent protofilaments associate laterally to form the microtubule. In the textbook view, microtubules are 1) composed of 13 protofilaments, 2) arranged in a radial array by the centrosome, and 3) built into the 9+2 axoneme. Although these canonical structures predominate in eukaryotes, microtubules with divergent protofilament numbers and higher-order microtubule assemblies have been discovered throughout the last century. Here we survey these noncanonical structures, from the 4-protofilament microtubules of Prosthecobacter to the 40-protofilament accessory microtubules of mantidfly sperm. We review the variety of protofilament numbers observed in different species, in different cells within the same species, and in different stages within the same cell. We describe the determinants of protofilament number, namely nucleation factors, tubulin isoforms, and posttranslational modifications. Finally, we speculate on the functional significance of these diverse polymers. Equipped with novel tubulin-purification tools, the field is now prepared to tackle the long-standing question of the evolutionary basis of microtubule structure.

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  • Diversity of microtubule conformations includes differences in protofilament number, longitudinal compaction or expansion, and dimer twist.

    “Diversity of microtubule conformations includes differences in protofilament number, longitudinal compaction or expansion, and dimer twist 63,66,71,72 (Extended Data Fig. 6c).”

    From Taxane-induced conformational changes in the microtubule lattice activate GEF-H1-dependent RhoA signalling (2026) · cites this paper as [63]

    The Introduction and Figure 1 describe variation in protofilament number, supporting that part of the claim. They also describe protofilament supertwist in non–13-protofilament microtubules, but do not establish variation in longitudinal compaction or expansion or in dimer twist. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The GEF-H1-microtubule interaction is not particularly sensitive to protofilament number.

    “In mammalian cells the majority of microtubules consist of 13 protofilaments 63 , so these data suggest that the GEF-H1-microtubule interaction is not particularly sensitive to protofilament number.”

    From Taxane-induced conformational changes in the microtubule lattice activate GEF-H1-dependent RhoA signalling (2026) · cites this paper as [63]

  • In mammalian cells, the majority of microtubules consist of 13 protofilaments.

    “In mammalian cells the majority of microtubules consist of 13 protofilaments 63 , so these data suggest that the GEF-H1-microtubule interaction is not particularly sensitive to protofilament number.”

    From Taxane-induced conformational changes in the microtubule lattice activate GEF-H1-dependent RhoA signalling (2026) · cites this paper as [63]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Chaaban, S., & Brouhard, G. J.
Affiliations
McGill University (CA)
Corresponding author
Brouhard, Gary J.
ORCID
Venue
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Publisher
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
Published
2017-11
Volume
28
Issue
22
Pages
2924-2931
ISSN
  • 1059-1524 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-4586
DOI
10.1091/mbc.e16-05-0271
PMC
PMC5662251
OpenAlex
W2766334563
Cited by
174
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 14
FWCI
1.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc-sa
Locations
  • Molecular Biology of the Cell (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • McGill University
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (148702_1, 137055_1)
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN-2014, RGPIN-2014-03791, 03791)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and Kidney Cyst Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Treatment and Pharmacology
Keywords
microtubules, protofilament number, tubulin isoforms, post-translational modification, 9+2 axoneme
MeSH terms
Animals, Cytoskeleton, Humans, Microtubules, Models, Molecular, Polymers, Protein Processing, Post-Translational, Tubulin, Centrosome, Protein Isoforms

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