Conformational flexibility of tubulin dimers regulates the transitions of microtubule dynamic instability.

ABSTRACT: Microtubules are highly conserved polymers of αβ-tubulin dimers that undergo dynamic instability. While dynamic instability is conserved across eukaryotes, many of its associated conformational changes, like lattice compaction and twist, are not. Tubulin dimers sample multiple conformations in solution and undergo conformational changes during polymerization; the rate and extent of these changes describes their "conformational flexibility." Here, we investigate the relationship between the conformational flexibility of tubulins and the dynamic phenotypes of the microtubules they produce with a comparative study of Drosophila melanogaster tubulin (Dm-Tb) and Bos taurus brain tubulin (Bt-Tb). While these tubulins share high sequence and structural similarity, their microtubules

SUBMITTER: Shred M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12236738 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature