The motility of axonemal dynein is regulated by the tubulin code.

Microtubule diversity, arising from the utilization of different tubulin genes and from posttranslational modifications, regulates many cellular processes including cell division, neuronal differentiation and growth, and centriole assembly. In the case of cilia and flagella, multiple cell biological studies show that microtubule diversity is important for axonemal assembly and motility. However, it is not known whether microtubule diversity directly influences the activity of the axonemal dyneins, the motors that drive the beating of the axoneme, nor whether the effects on motility are indirect, perhaps through regulatory pathways upstream of the motors, such as the central pair, radial spokes, or dynein regulatory complex. To test whether microtubule diversity can directly regulate the activity of axonemal dyneins, we asked whether in vitro acetylation or deacetylation of lysine 40 (K40), a major posttranslational modification of α-tubulin, or whether proteolytic cleavage of the C-terminal tail (CTT) of α- and ß-tubulin, the location of detyrosination, polyglutamylation, and polyglycylation modifications as well as most of the genetic diversity, can influence the activity of outer arm axonemal dynein in motility assays using purified proteins. By quantifying the motility with displacement-weighted velocity analysis and mathematically modeling the results, we found that K40 acetylation increases and CTTs decrease axonemal dynein motility. These results show that axonemal dynein directly deciphers the tubulin code, which has important implications for eukaryotic ciliary beat regulation.

Spatial variation of microtubule depolymerization in large asters.

Microtubule plus-end depolymerization rate is a potentially important target of physiological regulation, but it has been challenging to measure, so its role in spatial organization is poorly understood. Here we apply a method for tracking plus ends based on time difference imaging to measure depolymerization rates in large interphase asters growing in Xenopus egg extract. We observed strong spatial regulation of depolymerization rates, which were higher in the aster interior compared with the periphery, and much less regulation of polymerization or catastrophe rates. We interpret these data in terms of a limiting component model, where aster growth results in lower levels of soluble tubulin and microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) in the interior cytosol compared with that at the periphery. The steady-state polymer fraction of tubulin was ∼30%, so tubulin is not strongly depleted in the aster interior. We propose that the limiting component for microtubule assembly is a MAP that inhibits depolymerization, and that egg asters are tuned to low microtubule density.

Spindle Scaling Is Governed by Cell Boundary Regulation of Microtubule Nucleation.

Cellular organelles such as the mitotic spindle adjust their size to the dimensions of the cell. It is widely understood that spindle scaling is governed by regulation of microtubule polymerization. Here, we use quantitative microscopy in living zebrafish embryos and Xenopus egg extracts in combination with theory to show that microtubule polymerization dynamics are insufficient to scale spindles and only contribute below a critical cell size. In contrast, microtubule nucleation governs spindle scaling for all cell sizes. We show that this hierarchical regulation arises from the partitioning of a nucleation inhibitor to the cell membrane. Our results reveal that cells differentially regulate microtubule number and length using distinct geometric cues to maintain a functional spindle architecture over a large range of cell sizes.

Autocatalytic microtubule nucleation determines the size and mass of Xenopus laevis egg extract spindles.

Regulation of size and growth is a fundamental problem in biology. A prominent example is the formation of the mitotic spindle, where protein concentration gradients around chromosomes are thought to regulate spindle growth by controlling microtubule nucleation. Previous evidence suggests that microtubules nucleate throughout the spindle structure. However, the mechanisms underlying microtubule nucleation and its spatial regulation are still unclear. Here, we developed an assay based on laser ablation to directly probe microtubule nucleation events in Xenopus laevis egg extracts. Combining this method with theory and quantitative microscopy, we show that the size of a spindle is controlled by autocatalytic growth of microtubules, driven by microtubule-stimulated microtubule nucleation. The autocatalytic activity of this nucleation system is spatially regulated by the limiting amounts of active microtubule nucleators, which decrease with distance from the chromosomes. This mechanism provides an upper limit to spindle size even when resources are not limiting.

A size-invariant bud-duration timer enables robustness in yeast cell size control.

Cell populations across nearly all forms of life generally maintain a characteristic cell type-dependent size, but how size control is achieved has been a long-standing question. The G1/S boundary of the cell cycle serves as a major point of size control, and mechanisms operating here restrict passage of cells to Start if they are too small. In contrast, it is less clear how size is regulated post-Start, during S/G2/M. To gain further insight into post-Start size control, we prepared budding yeast that can be reversibly blocked from bud initiation. While blocked, cells continue to grow isotropically, increasing their volume by more than an order of magnitude over unperturbed cells. Upon release from their block, giant mothers reenter the cell cycle and their progeny rapidly return to the original unperturbed size. We found this behavior to be consistent with a size-invariant 'timer' specifying the duration of S/G2/M. These results indicate that yeast use at least two distinct mechanisms at different cell cycle phases to ensure size homeostasis.

Dissecting microtubule structures by laser ablation.

Here, we describe a detailed protocol, based on laser ablation and fluorescence optical microscopy, to measure the microtubule organization in spindles, including microtubule length distribution, polarity, and plus and minus end densities. The method uses the asymmetry in microtubule depolymerization after a cut, where the newly created microtubule plus ends depolymerize all the way to the minus ends, whereas the newly created minus ends remain stable. The protocol described in this chapter is optimized for spindles, but can be easily applied to any microtubule-based structure. The chapter is divided into two parts. First, we provide the theoretical basis for the method. Second, we describe in detail all steps necessary to reconstruct the microtubule organization of a spindle assembled in Xenopus laevis egg extract. Compared to electron microscopy, which in theory can resolve individual microtubules in spindles and provide similar structural information, our method is fast and simple enough to allow for a full quantitative reconstruction of the microtubule organization of several X. laevis spindles­which have volumes tens of thousands of times larger than spindles whose structures have been previously solved by electron microscopy­in a single experimental session, as well as to explore how the architecture of these structures changes in response to biochemical perturbations.