title: Tubulin modifications and their cellular functions.
abstract: All microtubules are built from a basic alpha/beta-tubulin building block, yet subpopulations of microtubules can be differentially marked by a number of post-translational modifications. These modifications, conserved throughout evolution, are thought to act individually or in combination to control specific microtubule-based functions, analogous to how histone modifications regulate chromatin functions. Here we review recent studies demonstrating that tubulin modifications influence microtubule-associated proteins such as severing proteins, plus-end tracking proteins, and molecular motors. In this way, tubulin modifications play an important role in regulating microtubule properties, such as stability and structure, as well as microtubule-based functions, such as ciliary beating, cell division, and intracellular trafficking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Jennetta W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: Dawen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Kristen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Verhey
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D000818:Animals; D019281:Dimerization; D006801:Humans; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014404:Tubulin