The microtubule lattice and plus-end association of Drosophila Mini spindles is spatially regulated to fine-tune microtubule dynamics.

ABSTRACT: Individual microtubules (MTs) exhibit dynamic instability, a behavior in which they cycle between phases of growth and shrinkage while the total amount of MT polymer remains constant. Dynamic instability is promoted by the conserved XMAP215/Dis1 family of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). In this study, we conducted an in vivo structure-function analysis of the Drosophila homologue Mini spindles (Msps). Msps exhibits EB1-dependent and spatially regulated MT localization, targeting to microtubule plus ends in the cell interior and decorating the lattice of growing and shrinking microtubules in the cell periphery. RNA interference rescue experiments revealed that the NH(2)-terminal four TOG domains of Msps function as paired units and were sufficient to promote microtubule dynamics and

SUBMITTER: Currie JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3216660 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature