STRUCTURE OF KINETOCHORE-MICROTUBULE INTERACTIONS

University Of Colorado, Boulder CO

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Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. We are using cryofixed, freeze-substituted cells to study the morphology of kinetochores and their associated microtubule (MT) in mitotic cells. We have developed successful methods for preparing well-frozen mitotic cells (Morphew and McIntosh, J. Micros 212:21-25). 3-D reconstructions of kinetochores from several species have been obtained using dual-axis tomography. The structures of kinetochore-associated MT ends have been oriented and extracted using the "slicer" tool in IMOD. The walls of most kinetochore MTs flare outward at their plus ends, a morphology characteristic of disassembling MTs in vitro (Mandelkow et al., JCB 114:977, 1991). The degree of flaring has been quantified and found to be similarly distributed at all mitotic stages. These findings suggest that flaring in vivo is not simply indicative of disassembly, but may reflect a different dynamic state that can be controlled by other cellular processes. The regions around kinetochore MTs contain slender fibrils that appear to connect the MT walls in the centromeric heterochromatin. These findings suggest a novel mechanism for the binding of chromosomes to the mitotic spindle.