Molecular biology and genetics of tubulin.

PERSPECTIVES AND SUMMARY .............................................................. 332 HETEROGENEITY OF TUBULIN POLYPEPTIDES: AN HISTORICAL CHRONICAL ............................................................................ 334 COMPLEXITY OF TUBULIN GENE SEQUENCES .......................................... 336 Tubulin Genes in Unicellular Organisms ..................................................... 337 Tubulin Genes in Drosophila ................................................................... 339 Tubulin Genes in Mammals: Authentic Genes Amid a Sea of Pseudogenes ............ 339 Tubulin Genes in the Chicken .................................................................. 340 MULTIPLE TUBULIN GENES ENCODE POLYPEPTIDES THAT ARE BOTH CONSERVED AND HETEROGENEOUS .......................................... 340 Regional Variability in Metazoan ~ Tubulin Polypeptides Suggests Distinct lsotypic Classes ...................................................................... 341 Tubulin Polypeptides in Lower Eukaryotes ................................................... 344 MULTIPLE TUBULIN GENES ARE EXPRESSED IN COMPLEX DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMS .................................................. 344 POSTTRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATION OF TUBULIN: FINE TUNING O13’ FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICITY? .................................................. 346 Tyrosinat?on of ~ Tubulin ....................................................................... 346 Axonal Tubulins ................................................................................... 348 Flagellar Tubulins ................................................................................ 3,t-9 Other Posttranslational Modifications of Tubulin ................................ ~ .......... 350 GENETICS OF MICROTUBULE SYSTEMS ................................................... 350 Microtub~de Genetics in Aspergillus .......................................................... 351 Microtubrde Biochemistry and Genetics in Yeast ........................................... 351 Microtub~le Genetics in Physarum ............................................................ 352 Microtub~de Genetics in Drosophila ........................................................... 353 Tubulin Function Ascertained by Mammalian Somatic Cell Genetics ................... 353 Microtub~le Function Deduced from Analysis of Mutations in Nontubulin Proteins ................................................................. 355