Abstract
Microtubules are biopolymers that assemble from tubulin dimers into hollow tubes and play an important role in cellular organization. Their fascinating properties and variety of functions, like for example chromosome segregation, sperm propagation and polarity establishment, have made them a popular subject of study. In this perspective I focus on the contribution of minimal in vitro systems to our understanding of microtubule organization within the physical confinement of a cell.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank M. Dogterom for constant support and insightful discussions during my research on microtubule organization in her group; B. Neugeboren and M. Costa Coehlo for critical reading of the manuscript; M. Mueller for insightful discussions. I gratefully acknowledge support from the Human Frontiers Science Program.
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Laan, L. Experiments inside a box lead to out-of-the-box ideas on cellular organization. Syst Synth Biol 8, 223–226 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11693-014-9139-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11693-014-9139-5