Sandbox Reserved 456

Tubulin is a globular protein. The most common types of tubulin are alpha and beta tubulin. Its main function is to create microtubules <ref>http:/​/​dx.​doi.​org/​10.​1105/​tpc.​106.​043976 <ref/>. The alpha and beta proteins polymerize to create the microtubule. Gama Tubulin is also an important tubulin protein. Tubulin is used in plants as well as animals. For plants, it is important for acentrosomal microtubule nucleation in plants. This can be shown in Arabidopsis. The gama tubulin protein binds with other proteins in order to create a “cap” at the negative end of the microtubule and acts as a scaffold for the alpha/beta tubulin dimer to polymerize. In plants, many viruses such as gemini-viruses can attack these proteins and cause cell death which leads to plant death. One particular study by Keech et al showed that Cabbage Leaf Curl Virus (CaLCuV) induced senescence in Arabidopsis plants which lead to plant death.

Microtubules are important for maintaining cell structure, providing platforms for intracellular transport, forming the spindle during mitosis, as well as other cellular processes. The microtubules may also help to move things in the cell like vesicles, granules, organelles, and chromosomes by using special attachment proteins. Because mictotubules play such an important role in cell growth, researchers are looking at ways to prevent the formation of microtubules in many cancer drugs. By preventing its formation, mitosis can not continue and thus the cell cannot divide and cell growth cannot continue.