Spatial Variation of Microtubule Depolymerization in Large Asters Suggests Regulation by MAP Depletion

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Microtubule plus end depolymerization rate is a potentially important target of physiological regulation, but it has been challenging to measure, so its role in spatial organization is poorly understood. Here we apply a method for tracking plus ends based on time difference imaging to measure depolymerization rates in large interphase asters growing in <jats:italic>Xenopus</jats:italic> egg extract. We observed strong spatial regulation of depolymerization rates, which were almost two-fold higher in the aster interior compared to the periphery, and much less regulation of polymerization or catastrophe rates. We interpret these data in terms of a limiting component model, where aster growth results in lower levels of soluble tubulin and MAPs in the interior cytosol compared to that at the periphery. The steady-state polymer fraction of tubulin was ∼30%, so tubulin is not strongly depleted in the aster interior. We propose that the limiting component for microtubule assembly is a MAP that inhibits depolymerization, and that egg asters are tuned to low microtubule density.</jats:p>