Minus-End Growth, Reconstituted Spindle Midzones, and Contorted Microtubules Must Read Patronin-Mediated Minus End Growth Is Required For Dendritic Microtubule Polarity Feng et al. | Journal of Cell Biology Microtubule minus-ends are often stably capped in cells, yielding the spotlight to their more dynamic plus-end counterparts. However, dendritic neurons present a compelling case for significant […]
Category Archives: Archived Newsletter
Spindle-F-Actin, Molecular Gearshifts, and Cytoplasmic Softening Must Read Spindle-F-Actin Interactions in Mitotic Spindles in an Intact Vertebrate Epithelium Kita et al. | Molecular Biology of the Cell A compelling subject for striking microscopy images, microtubules have long been considered the major mechanical component of the mitotic spindle. But a long-standing question has been whether […]
Spindle Heterogeneity, Microtubule Search and Capture, and Bulk Actin Waves Must Read Mechanically Distinct Microtubule Arrays Determine the Length and Force Response of the Meiotic Spindle Takagi et al. | Developmental Cell The spindle is a remarkable macromolecular machine comprised of dynamic microtubules and associated factors. Given its critical job in driving chromosome segregation, […]
Tubulin Beyond Microtubules, Inhibitable Kinesin-2, and Designer Organelles Must Reads Tubulin mRNA Stability Is Sensitive To Change In Microtubule Dynamics Caused By Multiple Physiological And Toxic Cues Gasic, Boswell, and Mitchison | PLoS Biol. As the molecular building blocks of microtubules, alpha- and beta-tubulin heterodimers are subject to cellular surveillance. Studies in the 1980s […]
Peeling Actomyosin Bundles, Tubulin Accretion, and Mapping the Primary Cilium Must Reads Directionality Of Dynein Is Controlled By The Angle And Length Of Its Stalk Can et al. | Nature Dynein motors possess an uncanny ability to walk toward the microtubule minus end. This minus end directionality is critical for retrograde intracellular transport (among other cellular […]