title: Electron tomography reveals novel microtubule lattice and microtubule organizing centre defects in +TIP mutants.
abstract: Mal3p and Tip1p are the fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) homologues of EB1 and CLIP-170, two conserved microtubule plus end tracking proteins (+TIPs). These proteins are crucial regulators of microtubule dynamics. Using electron tomography, we carried out a high-resolution analysis of the phenotypes caused by mal3 and tip1 deletions. We describe the 3-dimensional microtubule organization, quantify microtubule end structures and uncover novel defects of the microtubule lattices. We also reveal unexpected structural modifications of the spindle pole bodies (SPBs), the yeast microtubule organizing centers. In both mutants we observe an increased SPB volume and a reduced number of MT/SPB attachments. The discovered defects alter previous interpretations of the mutant phenotypes and provide new insights into the molecular functions of the two protein families.
authors.affiliation: Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. johanna.hoog@path.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Johanna L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Höög
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Huisman
authors.forename: Damian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antony
mesh_terms: D055032:Electron Microscope Tomography; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; C076744:cytoplasmic linker protein 170