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Implications of Microtubules in Cytomechanics: Static and Motile Aspects

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Cytomechanics

Abstract

Microtubules (MTs) are hollow core cylinders that measure 25 nm in diameter. The walls are primarily composed of dimers of the proteins α- and β-tubulin (see Dustin 1984 for review). The dimers are arranged in 13 strands or protofilaments that are aligned almost parallel to the longitudinal axis of the MT (Tilney et al. 1973; Crepeau et al. 1978). The individual monomers in adjacent protofilaments are not aligned in register along the perpendicular axis of the tubule, but are staggered at an oblique angle and follow a helical path around the tubule (Amos 1979). This monomer helix has been shown to be a 3-start helical family with a pitch of 12 nm and a pitch angle of 10.5° for 13 protofilament MTs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Zoologie, Technische Universität München, D-8046, Garching, Germany

    Dieter G. Weiss

  2. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27514, USA

    George M. Langford

  3. Department of Biology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, 03755, USA

    Robert D. Allen

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  1. Dieter G. Weiss
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  2. George M. Langford
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  3. Robert D. Allen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Arbeitsgruppe Kinematische Zellforschung, FB Biologie der Universität, Senckenberganlage 27, D-6000, Frankfurt 1, Germany

    Jürgen Bereiter-Hahn

  2. Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia University Biological Oceanography, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA

    O. Roger Anderson

  3. Institut und Museum für Geologie und Paläontologie, Universität Tübingen, Sigwartstr. 10, D-7400, Tübingen, Germany

    Wolf-Ernst Reif

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Weiss, D.G., Langford, G.M., Allen, R.D. (1987). Implications of Microtubules in Cytomechanics: Static and Motile Aspects. In: Bereiter-Hahn, J., Anderson, O.R., Reif, WE. (eds) Cytomechanics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72863-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72863-1_6

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