Tubulin is a protein that plays a crucial role in the structure and function of cells. It is the main component of microtubules, which are long, hollow fibers that provide structural support, help the cell divide, give it its shape, and act as tracks for moving molecular cargo around inside the cell.
There are two types of tubulin: alpha-tubulin and beta-tubulin. Together, they form dimeric (two-part) building blocks, spontaneously assembling into microtubules that undergo further continuous cycles of assembly and disassembly.
To fine-tune microtubules, the dimers undergo various post-translational modifications (PTMs), which are chemical modifications that occur after they are synthesized, and can affect their structure, activity, and interactions with other molecules.
Two important PTMs take place on the unstructured tail of alpha-tubulin: Polyglutamylation, which adds chains of glutamate amino acids, and detyrosination, which removes the final tyrosine amino acid. These PTMs, among others, are found together in stable microtubules, e.g. in neurons.
Combinations of PTMs form what scientists refer to as a “tubulin code,” which is connected to specific functions of microtubules. Tubulin PTMs are critical for the proper functioning of microtubules.
2023-06-29 11:30:03
Original from phys.org