title: Identification of katanin, an ATPase that severs and disassembles stable microtubules.
abstract: Eukaryotic cells rapidly reorganize their microtubule cytoskeleton during the cell cycle, differentiation, and cell migration. In this study, we have purified a heterodimeric protein, katanin, that severs and disassembles microtubules to tubulin dimers. The disassembled tubulin can repolymerize, indicating that it is not irreversibly modified or denatured in the reaction. Katanin is a microtubule-stimulated ATPase and requires ATP hydrolysis to sever microtubules. Katanin represents a novel type of enzyme that utilizes energy from nucleotide hydrolysis to break tubulin-tubulin bonds within a microtubule polymer, a process that may aid in disassembling complex microtubule arrays within cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco 94143.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: McNally
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Vale
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002474:Cell-Free System; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D000074201:Katanin; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D008870:Microtubules / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010063:Ovum; D012617:Sea Urchins; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism; D014741:Video Recording; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D014404:Tubulin; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D000074201:Katanin