First published online September 28, 2006
Development 133, 2002e (2006)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Getting a grip on special microtubules
Several developmental processes - for example, bicoid mRNA
localisation during oogenesis and meiosis during germline development -
involve special microtubule-organising centres (MTOCs). Now, on
p. 3963, Christiane
Nüsslein-Volhard and colleagues propose that the cap structure of the
-tubulin ring complex (TuRC) is essential for the function of
these special MTOCs. The TuRC, which is required for microtubule
nucleation, consists of a lockwasher-like structure and a globular cap. To
study the function of the cap, the researchers analysed flies that contain
mutations in the cap components Grip75 or Grip128. Animals
with these mutations are viable but sterile, and their cells seem to contain
TuRCs that nucleate the microtubules required for essential functions
in somatic cells. By contrast, the distinct microtubules that are needed for
bicoid mRNA localisation and germline meiosis do not form properly in
the mutant flies. The researchers suggest, therefore, that Grip75 and Grip128
are needed to anchor the TuRC at special MTOCs but are not essential
for microtubule nucleation.
Related articles in Development:
- The TuRC components Grip75 and Grip128 have an essential microtubule-anchoring function in the Drosophila germline
- Nina Vogt, Iris Koch, Heinz Schwarz, Frank Schnorrer, and Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
Development 2006 133: 3963-3972.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
