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Microtubule and tubulin metrics [1]. Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nm [2] and have an inner diameter between 11 and 15 nm. [3]
Microtubules are assembled from dimers of α- and β-tubulin. These subunits are slightly acidic, with an isoelectric point between 5.2 and 5.8. [14] Each has a molecular weight of approximately 50 kDa. [15] To form microtubules, the dimers of α- and β-tubulin bind to GTP and assemble onto the (+) ends of microtubules while in the GTP-bound ...
As this happens, microtubules invade the nuclear space. This is called open mitosis, and it occurs in some multicellular organisms. Fungi and some protists, such as algae or trichomonads, undergo a variation called closed mitosis where the spindle forms inside the nucleus, or the microtubules penetrate the intact nuclear envelope. [45] [46]
Micrograph showing condensed chromosomes in blue, kinetochores in pink, and microtubules in green during metaphase of mitosis. In cell biology, the spindle apparatus is the cytoskeletal structure of eukaryotic cells that forms during cell division to separate sister chromatids between daughter cells.
Additionally, the microtubules control the beating (movement) of the cilia and flagella. [31] Also, the dynein arms attached to the microtubules function as the molecular motors. The motion of the cilia and flagella is created by the microtubules sliding past one another, which requires ATP. [31] They play key roles in:
An aster is a cellular structure shaped like a star, consisting of a centrosome and its associated microtubules during the early stages of mitosis in an animal cell. [1]: 221 Asters do not form during mitosis in plants. Astral rays, composed of microtubules, radiate from the centrosphere and look like a cloud. Astral rays are one variant of ...
The centrosome is thought to have evolved only in the metazoan lineage of eukaryotic cells. [2] Fungi and plants lack centrosomes and therefore use other structures to organize their microtubules. [3] [4] Although the centrosome has a key role in efficient mitosis in animal cells, it is not essential in certain fly and flatworm species. [5] [6] [7]
The microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) is a structure found in eukaryotic cells from which microtubules emerge. MTOCs have two main functions: the organization of eukaryotic flagella and cilia and the organization of the mitotic and meiotic spindle apparatus, which separate the chromosomes during cell division.