Gamma-tubulin complexes and microtubule nucleation.
Microtubules are dynamic cytoskeletal polymers that assemble from alpha/beta-tubulin and are vital for the establishment of cell polarity, vesicle trafficking and formation of the mitotic/meiotic spindle. gamma-Tubulin, a protein related to alpha/beta-tubulin, is required for initiating the polymerization of microtubules in vivo. gamma-Tubulin has been found in two main protein complexes: the gamma-tubulin ring complex and its subunit, the gamma-tubulin small complex. The latter is analogous to the yeast Tub4 complex. In the past year, important advances have been made in understanding the structure and function of the gamma-tubulin ring complex and how it interacts with microtubules.
Moritz
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Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143-0448, USA. moritz@msg.ucsf.edu
Agard
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D000818:Animals; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
D014404:Tubulin