title: Writing and Reading the Tubulin Code.
abstract: Microtubules give rise to intracellular structures with diverse morphologies and dynamics that are crucial for cell division, motility, and differentiation. They are decorated with abundant and chemically diverse posttranslational modifications that modulate their stability and interactions with cellular regulators. These modifications are important for the biogenesis and maintenance of complex microtubule arrays such as those found in spindles, cilia, neuronal processes, and platelets. Here we discuss the nature and subcellular distribution of these posttranslational marks whose patterns have been proposed to constitute a tubulin code that is interpreted by cellular effectors. We review the enzymes responsible for writing the tubulin code, explore their functional consequences, and identify outstanding challenges in deciphering the tubulin code.
authors.affiliation: From the Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, NINDS, and.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: From the Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, NINDS, and.
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Garnham
authors.affiliation: From the Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, NINDS, and NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Antonina@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Antonina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roll-Mecak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000378:metabolism; D010453:Peptide Synthases / Q000378:metabolism; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D014404:Tubulin; D010453:Peptide Synthases; C112698:tubulin polyglutamylase
keywords: TTLL; cytoskeleton; microtubule; microtubule dynamics; microtubule motor; microtubule-associated protein (MAP); post-translational modification (PTM); tubulin; tubulin post-translational modifications; tubulin tyrosine ligase