Department for Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
Cytoskeleton (Hoboken). 2023 Nov-Dec;80(11-12):404-436. doi: 10.1002/cm.21773. Epub 2023 Aug 14.
Microtubules (MTs) represent one of the main components of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton and support numerous critical cellular functions. MTs are in principle tube-like structures that can grow and shrink in a highly dynamic manner; a process largely controlled by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). Plant MAPs are a phylogenetically diverse group of proteins that nonetheless share many common biophysical characteristics and often contain large stretches of intrinsic protein disorder. These intrinsically disordered regions are determinants of many MAP-MT interactions, in which structural flexibility enables low-affinity protein-protein interactions that enable a fine-tuned regulation of MT cytoskeleton dynamics. Notably, intrinsic disorder is one of the major obstacles in functional and structural studies of MAPs and represents the principal present-day challenge to decipher how MAPs interact with MTs. Here, we review plant MAPs from an intrinsic protein disorder perspective, by providing a complete and up-to-date summary of all currently known members, and address the current and future challenges in functional and structural characterization of MAPs.
微管（MTs）是真核细胞骨架的主要成分之一，支持许多关键的细胞功能。MTs 原则上是管状结构，可以以高度动态的方式生长和收缩；这个过程主要由微管相关蛋白（MAPs）控制。植物 MAP 是一组在系统发育上多样化的蛋白质，但它们具有许多共同的生物物理特性，并且通常包含大量的内在蛋白无序区。这些内在无序区域是许多 MAP-MT 相互作用的决定因素，其中结构灵活性使低亲和力的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用成为可能，从而实现 MT 细胞骨架动力学的精细调节。值得注意的是，内在无序是 MAP 功能和结构研究的主要障碍之一，也是当前解析 MAP 如何与 MT 相互作用的主要挑战。在这里，我们从内在蛋白质无序的角度来综述植物 MAPs，提供所有目前已知成员的完整和最新总结，并讨论 MAP 功能和结构表征的当前和未来挑战。
