The Centrosome Is a Selective Condensate that Nucleates Microtubules by 
Concentrating Tubulin

Woodruff, Jeffrey B.; Gomes, Beatriz Ferreira; Widlund, Per O.; Mahamid, Julia; Honigmann, Alf; Hyman, Anthony A.

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.05.028

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The Centrosome Is a Selective Condensate that Nucleates Microtubules by Concentrating Tubulin

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Mahamid, Julia
Baumeister, Wolfgang / Molecular Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Max Planck Society;

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Woodruff, J. B., Gomes, B. F., Widlund, P. O., Mahamid, J., Honigmann, A., & Hyman, A. A. (2017). The Centrosome Is a Selective Condensate that Nucleates Microtubules by Concentrating Tubulin. Cell, 169(6), 1066-1077.e10. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.05.028.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-002D-DE6A-1

Abstract

Centrosomes are non-membrane-bound compartments that nucleate microtubule arrays. They consist of nanometer-scale centrioles surrounded by a micron-scale, dynamic assembly of protein called the pericentriolar material (PCM). To study how PCM forms a spherical compartment that nucleates microtubules, we reconstituted PCM-dependent microtubule nucleation in vitro using recombinant C. elegans proteins. We found that macromolecular crowding drives assembly of the key PCM scaffold protein SPD-5 into spherical condensates that morphologically and dynamically resemble in vivo PCM. These SPD-5 condensates recruited the microtubule polymerase ZYG-9 (XMAP215 homolog) and the microtubule-stabilizing protein TPXL-1 (TPX2 homolog). Together, these three proteins concentrated tubulin similar to 4-fold over background, which was sufficient to reconstitute nucleation of microtubule asters in vitro. Our results suggest that in vivo PCM is a selective phase that organizes microtubule arrays through localized concentration of tubulin by microtubule effector proteins.