Collective effects of XMAP215, EB1, CLASP2, and MCAK lead to robust microtubule treadmilling.

ABSTRACT: Microtubule network remodeling is essential for fundamental cellular processes including cell division, differentiation, and motility. Microtubules are active biological polymers whose ends stochastically and independently switch between phases of growth and shrinkage. Microtubule treadmilling, in which the microtubule plus end grows while the minus end shrinks, is observed in cells; however, the underlying mechanisms are not known. Here, we use a combination of computational and in vitro reconstitution approaches to determine the conditions leading to robust microtubule treadmilling. We find that microtubules polymerized from tubulin alone can treadmill, albeit with opposite directionality and order-of-magnitude slower rates than observed in cells. We then employ computational simulations

SUBMITTER: Arpag G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7293651 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature