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First published online July 25, 2006

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4-Tubulin ups the pace

Tubulin polymerizes to form the microtubules of the cytoskeleton. But there are many eukaryotic tubulin isoforms and the functional differences between them are unclear. On p. 3238, János Szabad and colleagues identify a specific role of one isoform, 4-tubulin. They report that, during early Drosophila embryogenesis, maternal 4-tubulin is required for the rapid formation of the long microtubules that separate daughter centrosomes. This fails in Drosophila eggs that carry a dominant-negative (Kavar^18c) or a null (kavar⁰) allele of the 4-tubulin gene. The authors show that 4-tubulin is enriched in and required for the rapid formation of the interpolar microtubules of early embryos. In the early cleavages of kavar⁰/- eggs, they report, only short microtubules form, because the time available for tubulin polymerization is limited. Furthermore, injection of E82K-4-tubulin, the mutant present in the cytoplasm of Kavar^18c eggs, into wild-type embryos prevents centrosome separation during early cleavages by destabilizing the interpolar microtubules. Thus, the authors suggest, long microtubules normally push the daughter centrosomes apart but can only grow quickly enough to do this during early cleavages if functional 4-tubulin is present.

Related articles in JCS:

4-Tubulin is involved in rapid formation of long microtubules to push apart the daughter centrosomes during earlyx Drosophila embryogenesis

Zsolt Venkei, Imre Gáspár, Gábor Tóth, and János Szabad
JCS 2006 119: 3238-3248. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content