Catalytic modulation of microtubule polymerization: A molecular and biochemical dissection

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When a cell divides, it duplicates the genetic material within and packages them into chromosomes. Microtubules are essential "cable-like" protein polymers that need to be assembled into a multi-component machine called the mitotic apparatus to search and capture these chromosomes and distribute them equally into the resulting two daughter cells. We know that microtubules work by adding and removing their building blocks, tubulin, to make them grow or shrink. This dynamic property is very important for their functions. Recently, we have found that a protein called KIF14 not only can bind to microtubules, but can actually promote the assembly of microtubules. This gives us an opportunity to take a closer look into the molecular mechanism of how microtubule assembly or polymerization can be enhanced by KIF14. We propose to use biochemical and high-resolution imaging techniques to examine KIF14-induced microtubule polymerization. This effort aims to provide a glimpse of what could be happening in the microtubule network during cell division, and more fundamentally the regulated process of microtubule assembly. Ultimately, the proposed research will tell us more about the rather mysterious and complex control of polymer systems in a very important process - cell division. It will contribute to a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying microtubule polymer assembly.