Cooperativity between the beta-tubulin carboxy tail and the body of the molecule is required for microtubule function

Using Drosophila spermatogenesis as a model, we show that function of the beta-tubulin C-terminal tail (CTT) is not independent of the body of the molecule. For optimal microtubule function, the beta-tubulin CTT and body must match. beta2 is the only beta-tubulin used in meiosis and spermatid differentiation. beta1-tubulin is used in basal bodies, but beta1 cannot replace beta2. However, when beta1 is co-expressed with beta2, both beta-tubulins are equally incorporated into all microtubules, and males exhibit near wild type fertility. In contrast, co-expression of beta2beta1C and beta1beta2C, two reciprocal chimeric molecules with bodies and tails swapped, results in defects in meiosis, cytoskeletal microtubules, and axonemes; males produce few functional sperm and few or no progeny. In these experiments, all the same beta-tubulin parts are present, but unlike the co-assembled native beta-tubulins, the "trans" configuration of the co-assembled chimeras is poorly functional. Our data thus reveal essential intra-molecular interactions between the CTT and other parts of the beta-tubulin molecule, even though the CTT is a flexible surface feature of tubulin heterodimers and microtubules. In addition, we show that Drosophila sperm tail length depends on the total tubulin pool available for axoneme assembly and spermatid elongation. D. melanogaster and other Drosophila species have extraordinarily long sperm tails, the length of which is remarkably constant in wild type flies. We show that in males of experimental genotypes that express wild type tubulins but have half the amount of the normal tubulin pool size, sperm tails are substantially shorter than wild type.     

In vivo coassembly of a divergent beta-tubulin subunit (c beta 6) into microtubules of different function

alpha- and beta-Tubulin are encoded in vertebrate genomes by a family of approximately 6-7 functional genes whose polypeptide products differ in amino acid sequence. In the chicken, one beta-tubulin isotype (c beta 6) has previously been found to be expressed only in thrombocytes and erythroid cells, where it is assembled into a circumferential ring of marginal band microtubules. In light of its unique in vivo utilization and its divergent assembly properties in vitro, we used DNA transfection to test whether this isotype could be assembled in vivo into microtubules of divergent functions. Using an antibody specific to c beta 6, we have found that upon transfection this polypeptide is freely coassembled into an extensive array of interphase cytoplasmic microtubules and into astral and pole-to-chromosome or pole-to-pole microtubules during mitosis. Further, examination of developing chicken erythrocytes reveals that both beta-tubulins that are expressed in these cells (c beta 6 and c beta 3) are found as co-polymers of the two isoforms. These results, in conjunction with efforts that have localized various other beta-tubulin isotypes, demonstrate that to the resolution limit afforded by light microscopy in vivo microtubules in vertebrates are random copolymers of available isotypes. Although these findings are consistent with functional interchangeability of beta-tubulin isotypes, we have also found that in vivo microtubules enriched in c beta 3 polypeptides are more sensitive to cold depolymerization than those enriched in c beta 6. This differential quantitative utilization of the two endogenous isotypes documents that some in vivo functional differences between isotypes do exist.     

Axoneme beta-tubulin sequence determines attachment of outer dynein arms

Axonemes of motile eukaryotic cilia and flagella have a conserved structure of nine doublet microtubules surrounding a central pair of microtubules. Outer and inner dynein arms on the doublets mediate axoneme motility [1]. Outer dynein arms (ODAs) attach to the doublets at specific interfaces [2-5]. However, the molecular contacts of ODA-associated proteins with tubulins of the doublet microtubules are not known. We report here that attachment of ODAs requires glycine 56 in the beta-tubulin internal variable region (IVR). We show that in Drosophila spermatogenesis, a single amino acid change at this position results in sperm axonemes markedly deficient in ODAs. Moreover, we found that axonemal beta-tubulins throughout the phylogeny have invariant glycine 56 and a strongly conserved IVR, whereas nonaxonemal beta-tubulins vary widely in IVR sequences. Our data reveal a deeply conserved physical requirement for assembly of the macromolecular architecture of the motile axoneme. Amino acid 56 projects into the microtubule lumen [6]. Imaging studies of axonemes indicate that several proteins may interact with the doublet-microtubule lumen [3, 4, 7, 8]. This region of beta-tubulin may determine the conformation necessary for correct attachment of ODAs, or there may be sequence-specific interaction between beta-tubulin and a protein involved in ODA attachment or stabilization.     

Carboxy-terminal regions on the surface of tubulin and microtubules. Epitope locations of YOL1/34, DM1A and DM1B

Tryptic and cyanogen bromide peptides of pig brain alpha- and beta-tubulin reacting with monoclonal antibodies YOL1/34, DM1A and DM1B have been isolated and identified. They all correspond to parts of the C-terminal regions of either alpha- or beta-tubulin, and those peptides reacting with a given antibody have overlapping sequences. In the case of YOL1/34, its relatively high reactivity with small peptides suggests that many of the determinants for this antibody are within the overlapping region of these peptides comprising only nine amino acids in positions alpha 414 to 422. The smallest common region of peptides reacting with the other alpha-tubulin antibody DM1A corresponds to positions alpha 426 to 450, whereby amino acids within the positions 426 and 430 appear to be particularly important for reactivity. Since the last C-terminal residues of alpha-tubulin are also accessible to antibodies and enzymes, it seems that an extensive part (35 to 40 residues) of this very acidic C-terminal domain is exposed on the surface of native tubulin dimers. In microtubules, however, the amino-terminal end of this region appears to be less accessible, as YOL1/34 reacts poorly, if at all, with intact microtubules. All of the peptides reacting with beta-tubulin monoclonal antibody DM1B were derived from the acidic C-terminal domain and they overlapped in positions beta 416 to 430. This indicates that beta-tubulin is also positioned with at least part of its acidic C-terminal domain on the surface of microtubules, since DM1B reacts with unfixed microtubules after microinjection.     

Three expressed sequences within the human beta-tubulin multigene family each define a distinct isotype

This paper describes the isolation and complete sequence of a novel expressed human beta-tubulin gene (beta 2). The sequence is compared with that of two other expressed human beta-tubulin genes (M40 and 5 beta). All are encoded by four exons. Though the boundaries of each exon are absolutely conserved among the three genes, the intervening sequences differ considerably in size and sequence content. Two of the genes (M40 and 5 beta) contain one (M40) or ten (5 beta) members of the middle repetitive Alu family sequences within one of their intervening sequences. Comparison of the amino acid sequences encoded by each gene reveals a high level of homology overall, though there is significant divergence between the carboxy termini of two of the genes. The pattern of expression of each beta-tubulin gene has been studied in several different human cell lines using unique non-crosshybridizing probes derived from the 3' untranslated regions. Two of the genes, M40 and beta 2, are expressed at varying levels in all of the cell lines examined, though the level of expression of one of these genes parallels the other in most cases. The third gene, 5 beta, is detectably expressed only in cells of neural origin. Thus, distinct human beta-tubulin isotypes are encoded by genes whose exon size and number has been conserved evolutionarily, but whose pattern of expression may be regulated either co-ordinately or uniquely. Of the approximately 15 sequences contained in the human beta-tubulin multigene family, nine have now been sequenced fully. The overall composition of the multigene family and the evolutionary relationships among its various members are discussed.     

Regulation of three beta-tubulin mRNAs during rat brain development.

The nucleotide sequence of a complete rat brain beta-tubulin T beta 15 has been determined from three overlapping cDNA clones. The overall length of the T beta 15 sequence is 1589 bp and shows between 84.5% and 88.6% homology within the coding region as compared with chick and human beta-tubulin sequences. On the other hand, the 3'-non-coding region is highly divergent. Comparison of the derived amino acid sequences from different species demonstrates that the amino acid changes are not randomly distributed, but rather there are several conserved and two highly variable regions common to beta-tubulin polypeptides from various sources. The T beta 15 sequence encodes a dominant neuronal 1.8-kb beta-tubulin mRNA species. Two other minor beta-tubulin mRNA species of 2.6 and 2.9 kb are present in rat brain. By using two synthetic oligonucleotide probes complementary to the carboxyl-terminal divergent region and to the amino-terminal conserved region, we have shown that the three mRNAs are distinct species, which are developmentally regulated. The level of the 1.8-kb mRNA species increases till the age of 12 days thereafter its level decreases. The 2.9-kb mRNA is an early neuronal mRNA species, while the 2.6-kb mRNA is a late neuronal species which is detected at 30 days of rat brain development. The data illustrate that there is a differential expression of the beta-tubulin multigene family during rat brain development which may suggest different functions for the various beta-tubulin isotopes.     

Tubulin assembly probed with antibodies to synthetic peptides.

Antibodies to synthetic peptides from the alpha and beta-tubulin sequences were employed to study zones of this protein active in microtubule assembly. In purified calf brain tubulin, six short sequences, selected according to their hydrophilicity and conservation, were found to be accessible to their affinity-purified immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies, in a competition radioimmunoassay performed under non-assembly native conditions. This indicated that the six sequences are exposed on the surface of the tubulin alpha beta heterodimer. IgG antibodies to the alpha(430-443) and beta(412-431) sequences perturbed substoichiometrically the assembly of purified tubulin, inducing microtubule bundling and the formation of opened up structures. These positions, which are close to the C termini, were accessible to the anti-peptide antibodies in taxol-induced microtubules, Zn2(+)-induced tubulin sheets, Mg2(+)-induced tubulin rings and in PtK2 cell microtubules. This, together with the comparison of the sizes and gross shapes of the antibody probes and microtubules, suggested that these sequences might be located at the protruding parts of the protofilaments. Antibodies to positions alpha(155-168) did not react with microtubules, while the equivalent zone beta(153-165) was accessible. The alpha(214-226) and beta(241-256) sequences were antigenically occluded in the taxol microtubules, Zn2(+)-induced sheets and Mg2(+)-induced ring arrays, as well as in native microtubules from PtK2 cells, though they became reactive by fixation. This result strongly suggested that these two zones are close to tubulin-tubulin contact sites. A working model is proposed in which the positions alpha(214-226) and beta(241-256) are close to the axial contacts between heterodimers, which lead to protofilament formation, while the positions alpha(241-256) and beta(214-226) are suggested to be related to the alpha-beta binding interface within the heterodimer.     

Identification of betaIII- and betaIV-tubulin isotypes in cold-adapted microtubules from Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua): antibody mapping and cDNA sequencing

Isolated microtubule proteins from the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) assemble at temperatures between 8 and 30 degrees C. The cold-adaptation is an intrinsic property of the tubulin molecules, but the reason for it is unknown. To increase our knowledge of tubulin diversity and its role in cold-adaptation we have further characterized cod tubulins using alpha- and beta-tubulin site-directed antibodies and antibodies towards posttranslationally modified tubulin. In addition, one cod brain beta-tubulin isotype has been sequenced. In mammals there are five beta-tubulins (betaI, betaII, betaIII, betaIVa and betaIVb) expressed in brain. A cod betaIII-tubulin was identified by its electrophoretic mobility after reduction and carboxymethylation. The betaIII-like tubulin accounted for more than 30% of total brain beta-tubulins, the highest yield yet observed in any animal. This tubulin corresponds most probably with an additional band, designated beta(x), which was found between alpha- and beta-tubulins on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. It was found to be phosphorylated and neurospecific, and constituted about 30% of total cod beta-tubulin isoforms. The sequenced cod tubulin was identified as a betaIV-tubulin, and a betaIV-isotype was stained by a C-terminal specific antibody. The amount of staining indicates that this isotype, as in mammals, only accounts for a minor part of the total brain beta-tubulin. Based on the estimated amounts of betaIII- and betaIV-tubulins in cod brain, our results indicate that cod has at least one additional beta-tubulin isotype and that beta-tubulin diversity evolved early during fish evolution. The sequenced cod betaIV-tubulin had four unique amino acid substitutions when compared to beta-tubulin sequences from other animals, while one substitution was in common with Antarctic rockcod beta-tubulin. Residues 221, Thr to Ser, and 283, Ala to Ser, correspond in the bovine tubulin dimer structure to loops that most probably interact with other tubulin molecules within the microtubule, and might contribute to cold-adaptation of microtubules.     

A minor beta-tubulin essential for mammalian cell proliferation

Mammals use tubulin from multiple genes to construct microtubules. Some genes are expressed in a tissue specific manner, while others are expressed in almost all cell types. beta5-Tubulin is a minor, ubiquitous isoform whose overexpression was recently shown to disrupt microtubules. Using inhibitory RNA, we now report that suppression of beta5 production in both human and hamster cells blocks cell proliferation. Cells depleted of beta5 either trigger the mitotic checkpoint and undergo apoptosis; or they experience a transient mitotic block, a high incidence of lagging chromosomes, and progression into G1 without cytokinesis to become large, flat cells with elevated DNA content. Microtubules appear to be normally organized in cells depleted of beta5, but they are rich in acetylated alpha-tubulin indicating that they may be more stable than normal. The results provide the first evidence that a specific isoform of beta-tubulin is required for mitosis.     

Structure of Thermus thermophilus HB8 aspartate aminotransferase and its complex with maleate

The three-dimensional structures of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-type aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) from Thermus thermophilus HB8 and pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate type one in complex with maleate have been determined by X-ray crystallography at 1.8 and 2.6 A resolution, respectively. The enzyme is a homodimer, and the polypeptide chain of the subunit is folded into one arm, one small domain, and one large domain. AspATs from many species were classified into aminotransferase subgroups Ia and Ib. The enzyme belongs to subgroup Ib, its sequence being less than 16% identical to the primary sequences of Escherichia coli, pig cytosolic, and chicken mitochondrial AspATs, which belong to subgroup Ia whose sequences are more than 40% identical and whose three-dimensional structures are quite similar with the active site residues almost completely conserved. The first X-ray analysis of AspAT subgroup Ib indicated that the overall and the active site structures are essentially conserved between the AspATs of subgroup Ia and the enzyme of subgroup Ib, but there are two distinct differences between them. (1) In AspAT subgroup Ia, substrate (or inhibitor) binding induces a large movement of the small domain as a whole to close the active site. However, in the enzyme of subgroup Ib, only the N-terminal region (Lys13-Val30) of the small domain approaches the active site to interact with the maleate. (2) In AspAT subgroup Ia, Arg292 recognizes the side chain carboxylate of the substrate; however, residue 292 of the enzyme in subgroup Ib is not Arg, and in place of Arg292, Lys109 forms a salt bridge with the side chain carboxylate. The thermostability of the enzyme is attained at least in part by the high content of Pro residues in the beta-turns and the marked increase in the number of salt bridges on the molecular surface compared with the mesophilic AspAT.     

Immunochemical analysis of the types Ia and Ib group B streptococcal polysaccharides

The types Ia and Ib group B streptococcal type-specific polysaccharides have remarkable immunologic differences despite a great deal of structural similarity. Although these two complex polysaccharides differ only by a single glycosidic linkage, they are antigenically distinct. Furthermore, terminal sialic acid residues appear to be critical to the immunodeterminant on the type Ia polysaccharide, whereas the antigenicity of the type Ib polysaccharide does not show this dependence on sialic acid. In the current investigation we defined better the immunodeterminant of these polysaccharides. With homologous rabbit antiserum, the type Ia native and core polysaccharides demonstrated partial serologic identity, whereas the type Ib native and core polysaccharides demonstrated complete serologic identity. Surprisingly, the type I degalactosylated polysaccharide, degraded structure, was capable of reacting with a population of antibodies present in type Ia antiserum similar to the complete type Ia native polysaccharide, although demonstrating a reduced level of immunodeterminant expression. Unlike the reactions of the type Ia polysaccharides with homologous rabbit antiserum, the Ib native and core polysaccharides were able to react with identical populations of antibodies in type Ib-specific antiserum. A minor population of antibodies was demonstrated in the type Ib antiserum, which was reactive with the degalactosylated polysaccharide. That a population of antibodies reactive toward the degalactosylated polysaccharide is present in both type Ia and type Ib antisera suggests that the Iabc cross-reacting determinant is due to the presence of serum antibodies reactive with this trisaccharide repeating unit, which is shared by both the type Ia and the type Ib native and core polysaccharides.     

Sequence heterogeneity, multiplicity, and genomic organization of alpha- and beta-tubulin genes in sea urchins.

We analyzed the multiplicity, heterogeneity, and organization of the genes encoding the alpha and beta tubulins in the sea urchin Lytechinus pictus by using cloned complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) and genomic tubulin sequences. cDNA clones were constructed by using immature spermatogenic testis polyadenylic acid-containing ribonucleic acid as a template. alpha- and beta-tubulin clones were identified by hybrid selection and in vitro translation of the corresponding messenger ribonucleic acids, followed by immunoprecipitation and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of the translation products. The alpha cDNA clone contains a sequence that encodes the 48 C-terminal amino acids of alpha tubulin and 104 base pairs of the 3' nontranslated portion of the messenger ribonucleic acid. The beta cDNA insertion contains the coding sequence for the 100-C terminal amino acids of beta tubulin and 83 pairs of the 3' noncoding sequence. Hybrid selections performed at different criteria demonstrated the presence of several heterogeneous, closely related tubulin messenger ribonucleic acids, suggesting the existence of heterogeneous alpha- and beta-tubulin genes. Hybridization analyses indicated that there are at least 9 to 13 sequences for each of the two tubulin gene families per haploid genome. Hybridization of the cDNA probes to both total genomic DNA and cloned germline DNA fragments gave no evidence for close physical linkage of alpha-tubulin genes with beta-tubulin genes at the DNA level. In contrast, these experiments indicated that some genes within the same family are clustered.     

Cutting edge: a single MHC class Ia is sufficient for CD8 memory T cell differentiation

Recent studies have suggested a role for MHC class Ib molecules in providing signals for memory T cell differentiation during the early phases of acute infection. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the development of effector and memory CD8 T cells in transgenic mice expressing a single chain H-2D(d)/beta2-microglobulin (beta2M) fusion protein on a beta2M-deficient background. These mice thus express a single MHC class Ia in the absence of all other beta2M-dependent class Ia and Ib molecules. Following infection with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing a known D(d)-restricted epitope from HIV-1 gp160, the development of effector and memory cells CD8 T cells was comparable to control mice. Furthermore, these memory cells responded rapidly and robustly to antigenic restimulation. Therefore, we conclude that full CD8 memory differentiation requires only a single MHC class Ia chain, ruling out a requirement for MHC class Ib molecules in this process.