Distinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of Tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organism

The multi-tubulin hypothesis proposes that each tubulin isotype performs a unique role, or subset of roles, in the universe of microtubule function(s). To test this hypothesis, we are investigating the functions of the recently discovered, noncanonical β-like tubulins (BLTs) of the ciliate, Tetrahym...

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spelling ndltd-NEU--neu-3307872016-04-25T16:14:12ZDistinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of Tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organismThe multi-tubulin hypothesis proposes that each tubulin isotype performs a unique role, or subset of roles, in the universe of microtubule function(s). To test this hypothesis, we are investigating the functions of the recently discovered, noncanonical β-like tubulins (BLTs) of the ciliate, Tetrahymena thermophila. Tetrahymena forms 17 distinct microtubular structures whose assembly had been thought to be based on single α- and β-isotypes. However, completion of the macronuclear genome sequence of Tetrahymena demonstrated that this ciliate possessed a β-tubulin multigene family: two synonymous genes (BTU1 and BTU2) encode the canonical β-tubulin, BTU2, and six genes (BLT1-6) yield five divergent β-tubulin isotypes. In this report, we examine the structural features and functions of two of the BLTs (BLT1 and BLT4) and compare them to those of BTU2.http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20003220
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description The multi-tubulin hypothesis proposes that each tubulin isotype performs a unique role, or subset of roles, in the universe of microtubule function(s). To test this hypothesis, we are investigating the functions of the recently discovered, noncanonical β-like tubulins (BLTs) of the ciliate, Tetrahymena thermophila. Tetrahymena forms 17 distinct microtubular structures whose assembly had been thought to be based on single α- and β-isotypes. However, completion of the macronuclear genome sequence of Tetrahymena demonstrated that this ciliate possessed a β-tubulin multigene family: two synonymous genes (BTU1 and BTU2) encode the canonical β-tubulin, BTU2, and six genes (BLT1-6) yield five divergent β-tubulin isotypes. In this report, we examine the structural features and functions of two of the BLTs (BLT1 and BLT4) and compare them to those of BTU2.
title Distinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of Tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organism
spellingShingle Distinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of Tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organism
title_short Distinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of Tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organism
title_full Distinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of Tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organism
title_fullStr Distinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of Tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organism
title_full_unstemmed Distinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of Tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organism
title_sort distinct functional roles of β-tubulin isotypes in microtubule arrays of tetrahymena thermophila, a model single-celled organism
publishDate
url http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20003220
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