Time-Resolved Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Oscillating Microtubules

Microtubules form part of the cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells. They are hollow libers of about 25 nm diameter made up of 13 protofilaments, each of which consists of a chain of heterodimers of α-and β-tubulin. Microtubules can be assembled in vitro at 37°C in the presence of GTP which is hydrolyzed during the reaction, and they are disassembled at 4°C. In contrast to most other polymers microtubules show the behavior of “dynamic instability”, i.e. they can switch between phases of growth and phases of shrinkage, even at an overall steady state [1]. In certain conditions an entire solution can be synchronized, leading to autonomous oscillations in the degree of assembly which can be observed by X-ray scattering (Fig. 1), light scattering, or electron microscopy [2-5]. In addition such solutions are capable of generating spontaneous spatial patterns [6].In an earlier study we have analyzed the structure of microtubules and their cold-induced disassembly by cryo-EM [7]. One result was that disassembly takes place by loss of protofilament fragments (tubulin oligomers) which fray apart at the microtubule ends. We also looked at microtubule oscillations by time-resolved X-ray scattering and proposed a reaction scheme [4] which involves a cyclic interconversion of tubulin, microtubules, and oligomers (Fig. 2). The present study was undertaken to answer two questions: (a) What is the nature of the oscillations as seen by time-resolved cryo-EM? (b) Do microtubules disassemble by fraying protofilament fragments during oscillations at 37°C?