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The force required to remove tubulin from the microtubule lattice by pulling on its α-tubulin C-terminal tail

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  • Yin-Wei Kuo

    (Yale University)

  • Mohammed Mahamdeh

    (Harvard Medical School
    Massachusetts General Hospital)

  • Yazgan Tuna

    (Yale University)

  • Jonathon Howard

    (Yale University)

Abstract

Severing enzymes and molecular motors extract tubulin from the walls of microtubules by exerting mechanical force on subunits buried in the lattice. However, how much force is needed to remove tubulin from microtubules is not known, nor is the pathway by which subunits are removed. Using a site-specific functionalization method, we applied forces to the C-terminus of α-tubulin with an optical tweezer and found that a force of ~30 pN is required to extract tubulin from the microtubule wall. Additionally, we discovered that partial unfolding is an intermediate step in tubulin removal. The unfolding and extraction forces are similar to those generated by AAA-unfoldases. Lastly, we show that three kinesin-1 motor proteins can also extract tubulin from the microtubule lattice. Our results provide the first experimental investigation of how tubulin responds to mechanical forces exerted on its α-tubulin C-terminal tail and have implications for the mechanisms of severing enzymes and microtubule stability.

Suggested Citation

  • Yin-Wei Kuo & Mohammed Mahamdeh & Yazgan Tuna & Jonathon Howard, 2022. "The force required to remove tubulin from the microtubule lattice by pulling on its α-tubulin C-terminal tail," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-31069-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31069-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mireia Andreu-Carbó & Cornelia Egoldt & Marie-Claire Velluz & Charlotte Aumeier, 2024. "Microtubule damage shapes the acetylation gradient," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.

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