anti-Acetyl-alpha-Tubulin (Lys40), Rabbit Monoclonal (RM318)

Microtubules are key elements of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton that dynamically assemble from heterodimers of α- and β-tubulin. Two different mechanisms can generate microtubule diversity: the expression of different α- and β-tubulin genes, referred to as tubulin isotypes, and the generation of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) on α- and β-tubulin. Tubulin PTMs include the well-known acetylation or phosphorylation, and others that have so far mostly been found on tubulin, detyrosination/tyrosination, polyglutamylation and polyglycylation. These PTMs might have evolved to specifically regulate tubulin and microtubule functions. Tubulin acetylation was discovered on K40 of flagellar α-tubulin in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and is generally enriched on stable microtubules in cells. It is located on the microtubule lumenal surface. As a result of its localization at the inner face of microtubules, K40 acetylation might rather affect the binding of microtubule inner proteins, a poorly characterized family of proteins. Functional experiments in cells have further suggested that K40 acetylation regulates intracellular transport by regulating the traffic of kinesin motors probably by indirect mechanisms. Acetyltransferase α-Tat1 (or Mec-17) specifically acetylate α-tubulin K40. Acetylation of tubulin by α-Tat1 accumulates selectively in stable, long-lived microtubules thus explaining the link between this posttranslational modication and stable microtubules in cells. However, the direct cellular function of K40 acetylation on microtubules is still unclear.