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Review

The Tubulin Code

Kristen J. Verhey and Jacek Gaertig

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Microtubules create diverse arrays with specific cellular functions such as the mitotic spindle, cilia, and bundles inside neurons. How microtubules are regulated to enable specific functions is not well understood. Recent work has shown that posttranslational modifications of the tubulin building blocks mark subpopulations of microtubules and regulate downstream microtubule-based functions. In this way, the tubulin modifications generate a “code” that can be read by microtubule-associated proteins in a manner analogous to how the histone code directs diverse chromatin functions. Here we review recent progress in understanding how the tubulin code is generated, maintained, and read by microtubule effectors.

Authors

Kristen J. Verhey

University of Michigan Medical School; Ann Arbor, Michigan

Jacek Gaertig

University of Georgia; Athens, Georgia

This is an open-access article

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If the document does not open, please right-click on the link (control-click on a Macintosh) and select the option to save the file to disk.