Tubulin and FtsZ structures: functional and therapeutic implications

The microtubule cytoskeleton has lagged nearly a decade behind the actin cytoskeleton with respect to structural information on the basic polymer subunit. This structural inferiority complex has finally been lifted by two recent papers describing the structures of the αβ tubulin dimer⁽¹⁾ and FtsZ,⁽²⁾ a protein similar to tubulin that is essential for cell division in prokaryotes. BioEssays 20 :523–527, 1998. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons Inc.