Microtubule lattice plasticity

Abstract

In classical microtubule dynamic instability, the dynamics of the built polymer depend only on the nucleotide state of its individual tubulin molecules. Recent work is overturning this view, pointing instead towards lattice plasticity, in which the fine-structure and mechanics of the microtubule lattice are emergent properties that depend not only on the nucleotide state of each tubulin, but also on the nucleotide states of its neighbours, on its and their isotypes, and on interacting proteins, drugs, local mechanical strain, post translational modifications, packing defects and solvent conditions. In lattice plasticity models, the microtubule is an allosteric molecular collective that integrates multiple mechanochemical inputs and responds adaptively by adjusting its conformation, stiffness and dynamics.