scholarly journals Cytoplasmic microtubules containing acetylated alpha-tubulin in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: spatial arrangement and properties.

1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
M LeDizet ◽  
G Piperno

A monoclonal antibody, 6-11B-1, specific for acetylated alpha-tubulin (Piperno, G., and M. T. Fuller, 1985, J. Cell Biol., 101:2085-2094) was used to study the distribution of this molecule in interphase cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Double-label immunofluorescence was performed using 6-11B-1, and 3A5, an antibody specific for all alpha-tubulin isoforms. It was found that acetylated alpha-tubulin is not restricted to the axonemes, but is also present in basal bodies and in a subset of cytoplasmic microtubules that radiate from the basal bodies just beneath the plasma membrane. Immunoblotting experiments of basal body polypeptide components using 6-11B-1 as a probe confirmed that basal bodies contain acetylated alpha-tubulin. In the cell body, 6-11B-1 stained an average of 2.2 microtubules/cell, while 3A5 stained an average of 6.5 microtubules. Although exposure to 0 degrees C depolymerized both types of cytoplasmic microtubules, exposure to various concentrations of colchicine or nocodazole showed that the acetylated microtubules are much more resistant to drug-induced depolymerization than nonacetylated microtubules. Axonemes and basal bodies are already known to be colchicine-resistant. All acetylated microtubules appear, therefore, to be more drug-resistant than nonacetylated microtubules. The acetylation of alpha-tubulin may be part of a mechanism that stabilizes microtubules.

1984 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 1017-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
W C Thompson ◽  
D J Asai ◽  
D H Carney

Three monoclonal antibodies specific for tubulin were tested by indirect immunofluorescence for their ability to stain cytoplasmic microtubules of mouse and human fibroblastic cells. We used double label immunofluorescence to compare the staining patterns of these antibodies with the total microtubule complex in the same cells that were stained with a polyclonal rabbit antitubulin reagent. Two of the monoclonal antitubulin antibodies bound to all of the cytoplasmic microtubules but Ab 1-6. 1 bound only a subset of cytoplasmic microtubules within individual fixed cells. Differential staining patterns were observed under various fixation conditions and staining protocols, in detergent-extracted cytoskeletons as well as in whole fixed cells. At least one physiologically defined subset of cytoplasmic microtubules, those remaining in cells pretreated for 1 h with 5 microM colcemid, appeared to consist entirely of Ab 1-6. 1 positive microtubules. The same was not true of the microtubules that remained in either cold-treated cells or in cells that had been exposed to hypotonic medium. The demonstration of antigenic differences among microtubules within single fixed cells and the apparent correlation of this antigenic difference with at least one "physiologically" defined subset suggests that mechanisms exist for the differential assembly or postassembly modification of individual microtubules in vivo, which may endow them with different physical or functional properties.


1989 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Draber ◽  
E. Draberova ◽  
I. Linhartova ◽  
V. Viklicky

A panel of 11 monoclonal antibodies specific to alpha- or beta-tubulin subunits was used to study the location of tubulin molecules in cytoplasmic microtubules. Specificity of antibodies was confirmed by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence experiments on fixed cells. The limited proteolysis of tubulin with trypsin and chymotrypsin followed by immunoblotting demonstrated that the antibodies discriminated between structural domains of both subunits. Epitope mapping of isolated alpha-tubulin revealed that a set of antibodies against the N-terminal domain of the alpha-subunit (TU-01, TU-02, TU-03, TU-09, 6–11B-1) recognized at least four different antigenic determinants. Immunofluorescence staining of unfixed detergent-extracted cells showed that antibodies to determinants on C-terminal domains labelled microtubules, but these were not decorated with antibodies to N-terminal domains. The same results were obtained after microinjection of antibodies into living cells. The unchanged distribution of microtubules in injected cells was confirmed by double-label immunofluorescence with polyclonal antibodies. The data indicate that while parts of C-terminal domains of both subunits are exposed on the exterior of the microtubules, considerable regions of the N-terminal domains are either not exposed on the surface of cytoplasmic microtubules, or are masked by interacting proteins.


2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 2999-3012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen T. O'Toole ◽  
Thomas H. Giddings ◽  
J. Richard McIntosh ◽  
Susan K. Dutcher

Improved methods of specimen preparation and dual-axis electron tomography have been used to study the structure and organization of basal bodies in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Novel structures have been found in both wild type and strains with mutations that affect specific tubulin isoforms. Previous studies have shown that strains lacking δ-tubulin fail to assemble the C-tubule of the basal body. Tomographic reconstructions of basal bodies from the δ-tubulin deletion mutant uni3-1 have confirmed that basal bodies contain mostly doublet microtubules. Our methods now show that the stellate fibers, which are present only in the transition zone of wild-type cells, repeat within the core of uni3-1 basal bodies. The distal striated fiber is incomplete in this mutant, rootlet microtubules can be misplaced, and multiflagellate cells have been observed. A suppressor of uni3-1, designated tua2-6, contains a mutation in α-tubulin. tua2-6; uni3-1 cells build both flagella, yet they retain defects in basal body structure and in rootlet microtubule positioning. These data suggest that the presence of specific tubulin isoforms in Chlamydomonas directly affects the assembly and function of both basal bodies and basal body-associated structures.


1976 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
D L Brown ◽  
A Massalski ◽  
R Patenaude

The organization of microtubular systems in the quadriflagellate unicell Polytomella agilis has been reconstructed by electron microscopy of serial sections, and the overall arrangement confirmed by immunofluorescent staining using antiserum directed against chick brain tubulin. The basal bodies of the four flagella are shown to be linked in two pairs of short fibers. Light microscopy of swimming cells indicates that the flagella beat in two synchronous pairs, with each pair exhibiting a breast-stroke-like motion. Two structurally distinct flagellar rootlets, one consisting of four microtubules in a 3 over 1 pattern and the other of a striated fiber over two microtubules, terminate between adjacent basal bodies. These rootlets diverge from the basal body region and extend toward the cell posterior, passing just beneath the plasma membrane. Near the anterior part of the cell, all eight rootlets serve as attachment sites for large numbers of cytoplasmic microtubules which occur in a single row around the circumference of the cell and closely parallel the cell shape. It is suggested that the flagellar rootless may function in controlling the patterning and the direction of cytoplasmic microtubule assembly. The occurrence of similar rootlet structures in other flagellates is briefly reviewed.


1993 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.W. James ◽  
C.D. Silflow ◽  
P. Stroom ◽  
P.A. Lefebvre

A mutation in the alpha 1-tubulin gene of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was isolated by using the amiprophos-methyl-resistant mutation apm1-18 as a background to select new mutants that showed increased resistance to the drug. The upA12 mutation caused twofold resistance to amiprophos-methyl and oryzalin, and twofold hypersensitivity to the microtubule-stabilizing drug taxol, suggesting that the mutation enhanced microtubule stability. The resistance mutation was semi-dominant and mapped to the same interval on linkage group III as the alpha 1-tubulin gene. Two-dimensional gel immunoblots of proteins in the mutant cells revealed two electrophoretically altered alpha-tubulin isoforms, one of which was acetylated and incorporated into microtubules in the axoneme. The mutant isoforms co-segregated with the drug-resistance phenotypes when mutant upA12 was backcrossed to wild-type cells. Two-dimensional gel analysis of in vitro translation products showed that the non-acetylated variant alpha-tubulin was a primary gene product. DNA sequence analysis of the alpha 1-tubulin genes from mutant and wild-type cells revealed a single missense mutation, which predicted a change in codon 24 from tyrosine in wild type to histidine in mutant upA12. This alteration in the predicted amino acid sequence corroborated the approximately +1 basic charge shift observed for the variant alpha-tubulins. The mutant allele of the alpha 1-tubulin gene was designated tua1-1.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-434
Author(s):  
J A Schloss ◽  
C D Silflow ◽  
J L Rosenbaum

Flagellar amputation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii induces the accumulation of a specific set of RNAs, many of which encode flagellar proteins. We prepared a cDNA clone bank from RNA isolated from cells undergoing flagellar regeneration. From this bank, we selected clones that contain RNA sequences that display several different patterns of abundance regulation. Based on quantitation of the relative amounts of labeled, cloned cDNAs hybridizing to dots of RNA on nitrocellulose filters, the cloned sequences were divided into five regulatory classes: class I RNAs remain at constant abundance during flagellar regeneration; classes II, III, and IV begin to increase in abundance within a few minutes after deflagellation, reach maximal abundance at successively later times during regeneration, and return to control cell levels within 2 to 3 h; and class V RNA abundance decreases during flagellar regeneration. Alpha- and beta-tubulin mRNAs are included in regulatory class IV. The abundance kinetics of alpha-tubulin mRNAs differ slightly from those of beta-tubulin mRNAs. The availability of these clones makes possible studies on the mechanisms controlling the abundance of a wide variety of different RNA species during flagellar regeneration in Chlamydomonas.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Proteesh Rana ◽  
Vandana Roy ◽  
Jamshed Ahmad

Abstract We report a 26-year-old male patient diagnosed with extensively drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis presenting with reversible bilateral toxic optic neuropathy induced by the use of linezolid along with high-dose isoniazid. The case emphasizes the importance of recognizing toxic optic neuritis in patients on antitubercular therapy. Prompt recognition and treatment of such adverse drug reactions will reduce the associated morbidity.


1984 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Walsh

When Naegleria gruberi flagellates were extracted with nonionic detergent and stained by the indirect immunofluorescence method with AA-4.3 (a monoclonal antibody against Naegleria beta-tubulin), flagella and a network of cytoskeletal microtubules (CSMT) were seen. When Naegleria amebae were examined in the same way, no cytoplasmic tubulin-containing structures were seen. Formation of the flagellate cytoskeleton was followed during the differentiation of amebae into flagellates by staining cells with AA-4.3. The first tubulin containing structures were a few cytoplasmic microtubules that formed at the time amebae rounded up into spherical cells. The formation of these microtubules was followed by the appearance of basal bodies and flagella and then by the formation of the CSMT. The CSMT formed before the cells assumed the flagellate shape. In flagellate shaped cells the CSMT radiate from the base of the flagella and follow a curving path the full length of the cell. Protein synthetic requirements for the formation of CSMT were examined by transferring cells to cycloheximide at various times after initiation. One-half the population completed the protein synthesis essential for formation of CSMT 61 min after initiation of the differentiation. This is 10 min after the time when protein synthesis for formation of flagella is completed and 10-15 min before the time when the protein synthesis necessary for formation of the flagellate shape is completed.


1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.A. Johnson

Little is known of the molecular basis for the diversity of microtubule structure and function found within the eukaryotic flagellum. Antibodies that discriminate between tyrosinated alpha tubulin and post-translationally detyrosinated alpha tubulin were used to localize these complementary tubulin isoforms in flagella of the single-celled green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Immunofluorescence analysis of intact axonemes detected both isoforms along most of the lengths of flagella; however, each had a short distal zone rich in tyrosinated tubulin. Localizations on splayed axonemes revealed that the microtubules of the central-pair apparatus were rich in tyrosinated tubulin, while outer doublets contained a mixture of both isoforms. Immunoelectron analysis of individual outer doublets revealed that while tyrosinated tubulin was present in both A and B tubules, detyrosinated tubulin was largely confined to the wall of the B hemi-tubules. The absence of detyrosinated tubulin from the A tubules of the outer doublets and the microtubules of the central pair, both of which extend past the B hemi-tubules of the outer doublets in the flagellar tip, explained the appearance of a tyrosinated tubulin-rich distal zone on intact axonemes. Localizations performed on cells regenerating flagella revealed that flagellar assembly used tyrosinated tubulin; detyrosination of the B tubule occurred during later stages of regeneration, well after microtubule polymerization. The developmental timing of detyrosination, which occurs over a period during which the regrowing flagella begin to beat more effectively, suggests that post-translational modification of the B tubule surface may enhance dynein/B tubule interactions that power flagellar beating.


2004 ◽  
Vol 165 (5) ◽  
pp. 663-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumi Matsuura ◽  
Paul A. Lefebvre ◽  
Ritsu Kamiya ◽  
Masafumi Hirono

How centrioles and basal bodies assemble is a long-standing puzzle in cell biology. To address this problem, we analyzed a novel basal body-defective Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutant isolated from a collection of flagella-less mutants. This mutant, bld10, displayed disorganized mitotic spindles and cytoplasmic microtubules, resulting in abnormal cell division and slow growth. Electron microscopic observation suggested that bld10 cells totally lack basal bodies. The product of the BLD10 gene (Bld10p) was found to be a novel coiled-coil protein of 170 kD. Immunoelectron microscopy localizes Bld10p to the cartwheel, a structure with ninefold rotational symmetry positioned near the proximal end of the basal bodies. Because the cartwheel forms the base from which the triplet microtubules elongate, we suggest that Bld10p plays an essential role in an early stage of basal body assembly. A viable mutant having such a severe basal body defect emphasizes the usefulness of Chlamydomonas in studying the mechanism of basal body/centriole assembly by using a variety of mutants.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document