Isolation of microtubule protein from chicken erythrocytes and determination of the critical concentration for tubulin polymerization in vitro and in vivo.

Microtubule protein isolated from nucleated chicken erythrocytes was examined with respect to composition and assembly properties to determine its significance in a microtubule bundle called the marginal band. 1) The protein contains greater than 95% tubulin with small amounts of tau polypeptides and no high molecular weight polypeptides. 2) Microtubule assembly in vitro at 37 degrees C is characterized by low levels of nucleation, despite an abundance of ring oligomers at 5 degrees C, as indicated by long lag times, slow assembly rates, and microtubules that are twice as long as brain microtubules assembled under the same conditions. 3) By radioimmunoassay and sodium dodecyl sulfate gel analysis we determined that 0.6% of erythrocyte protein is tubulin of which three-quarters is in a nonextractable form and is associated with the microtubule bundle and the cell cortex. From these values the in vivo concentrations of total tubulin and tubulin dimer subunits are 2.4 and 0.7 mg/ml, respectively. The value of 0.7 mg/ml is close to the range of values of 0.1-0.6 mg/ml for the critical concentration of erythrocyte microtubule protein in vitro, suggesting that the assembly properties of tubulin in vitro and in vivo are similar.