title: Temperature-jump studies of microtubule dynamic instability.
abstract: Evidence for a slowly dissociating tubulin-GTP cap at microtubule ends was derived from observation of a delay for attaining a maximum disassembly rate, after the temperature of steady state microtubules was rapidly decreased from 36 to 34 degrees C. The possibility that the microtubules were capped by a single tubulin-GTP subunit on each subhelix was ruled out, by comparison of the disassembly kinetics following a temperature decrease and dilution. The existence of a subpopulation of microtubules that underwent irreversible or near irreversible disassembly was demonstrated by a 30-s lag for attainment of a maximum assembly rate, after steady state microtubules were shifted from 34 to 36 degrees C. A dynamic instability model predicts that a maximum assembly rate will be delayed until disappearance of a subpopulation of microtubules that disassemble before being recapped. Analysis indicates that the 30-s lag resulted because approximately 2% of the mass in the steady state microtubule population was uncapped and disassembling and not readily recapped. The half-time for recapping of disassembling microtubules, by addition of tubulin-GTP subunits to ends, was equal to or greater than 20 s. Since tubulin-GDP dissociated from microtubules at a rate of about 4500 s-1, slow recapping resulted in dramatic shortening of disassembling microtubules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7260.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caplow
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shanks
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Ruhlen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008868:Microtubule Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008868:Microtubule Proteins; D014404:Tubulin; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate