TY - JOUR T1 - β-Tubulin carboxy-terminal tails exhibit isotype-specific effects on microtubule dynamics in human gene-edited cells JF - Life Science Alliance JO - Life Sci. Alliance DO - 10.26508/lsa.201800059 VL - 1 IS - 2 SP - e201800059 AU - Amelia L Parker AU - Wee Siang Teo AU - Elvis Pandzic AU - Juan Jesus Vicente AU - Joshua A McCarroll AU - Linda Wordeman AU - Maria Kavallaris Y1 - 2018/05/01 UR - https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/1/2/e201800059.abstract N2 - Microtubules are highly dynamic structures that play an integral role in fundamental cellular functions. Different α- and β-tubulin isotypes are thought to confer unique dynamic properties to microtubules. The tubulin isotypes have highly conserved structures, differing mainly in their carboxy-terminal (C-terminal) tail sequences. However, little is known about the importance of the C-terminal tail in regulating and coordinating microtubule dynamics. We developed syngeneic human cell models using gene editing to precisely modify the β-tubulin C-terminal tail region while preserving the endogenous microtubule network. Fluorescent microscopy of live cells, coupled with advanced image analysis, revealed that the β-tubulin C-terminal tails differentially coordinate the collective and individual dynamic behavior of microtubules by affecting microtubule growth rates and explorative microtubule assembly in an isotype-specific manner. Furthermore, βI- and βIII-tubulin C-terminal tails differentially regulate the sensitivity of microtubules to tubulin-binding agents and the microtubule depolymerizing protein mitotic centromere-associated kinesin. The sequence of the β-tubulin tail encodes regulatory information that instructs and coordinates microtubule dynamics, thereby fine-tuning microtubule dynamics to support cellular functions. ER -