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How to Measure Microtubule Dynamics?

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Book cover Microtubule Dynamics

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 777))

Abstract

Microtubules are one of the most spectacular features in the cell: long, fairly rigid tubules that provide physical strength while at the same time serving as tracks of the intracellular transport network. In addition, they are the main constituents of the cell division machinery, and guide axonal growth and the direction of cell migration. To be able to fulfil such diverse functions, microtubules have to be arranged into suitable patterns and remodelled according to extra- and intracellular cues. Moreover, the delicate regulation of microtubule dynamics and the dynamic interactions with subcellular structures, such as kinetochores or cell adhesion sites, appear to be of crucial importance to microtubule functions. It is, therefore, important to understand microtubule dynamics and its spatiotemporal regulation at the molecular level. In this chapter, I introduce the concept of microtubule dynamics and discuss the techniques that can be employed to study microtubule dynamics in vitro and in cells, for many of which detailed protocols can be found in this volume. Microtubule dynamics is traditionally assessed by the four parameters of dynamic instability: growth and shrinkage rates, rescue and catastrophe frequencies, sometimes supplemented by pause duration. I discuss emerging issues with and alternatives to this parameter description of microtubule dynamics.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Frauke Hussmann and Mishan Britto for contributing images and Douglas Drummond and Rob Cross for critical comments on the manuscript. I am grateful to Anna Akhmanova for hosting me in her lab to learn how to perform in vitro microtubule plus-end-tracking assays. This work was funded by a Marie Curie Cancer Care programme grant to A.S.

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  1. Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Anne Straube

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  1. Warwick Medical School, Ctr for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom

    Anne Straube

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Straube, A. (2011). How to Measure Microtubule Dynamics?. In: Straube, A. (eds) Microtubule Dynamics. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 777. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-252-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-252-6_1

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