title: Microtubule architecture specified by a beta-tubulin isoform.
abstract: In Drosophila melanogaster, a testis-specific beta-tubulin (beta2) is required for spermatogenesis. A sequence motif was identified in carboxyl termini of axonemal beta-tubulins in diverse taxa. As a test of whether orthologous beta-tubulins from different species are functionally equivalent, the moth Heliothis virescens beta2 homolog was expressed in Drosophila testes. When coexpressed with beta2, the moth isoform imposed the 16-protofilament structure characteristic of that found in the moth on the corresponding subset of Drosophila microtubules, which normally contain only 13-protofilament microtubules. Thus, the architecture of the microtubule cytoskeleton can be directed by a component beta-tubulin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Indiana Molecular Biology Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. eraff@bio.indiana.edu
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Raff
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Fackenthal
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hutchens
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Hoyle
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Turner
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths / Q000235:genetics; D013087:Spermatids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013091:Spermatogenesis; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D014404:Tubulin