Most organisms have multiple α-and β-tubulin isotypes that likely contribute to the diversity of microtubule (MT) functions. To understand the functional differences of tubulin isotypes in Caenorhabditis elegans, which has nine α-tubulin isotypes and six β-tubulin isotypes, we systematically constructed null mutants and GFP-fusion strains for all tubulin isotypes with the CRISPR/Cas9 system and analyzed their expression patterns and levels in adult hermaphrodites. Four isotypes—α-tubulins TBA-1 and TBA-2 and β-tubulins TBB-1 and TBB-2—were expressed in virtually all tissues, with a distinct tissue-specific spectrum. Other isotypes were expressed in specific tissues or cell types at significantly lower levels than the broadly expressed isotypes. Four isotypes (TBA-5, TBA-6, TBA-9, and TBB-4) were expressed in different subsets of ciliated sensory neurons, and TBB-4 was inefficiently incorporated into mitotic spindle MTs. Taken together, we propose that MTs in C. elegans are mainly composed of four broadly expressed tubulin isotypes and that incorporation of a small amount of tissue-specific isotypes may contribute to tissue-specific MT properties. These newly constructed strains will be useful for further elucidating the distinct roles of tubulin isotypes.
CITATION STYLE
Nishida, K., Tsuchiya, K., Obinata, H., Onodera, S., Honda, Y., Lai, Y. C., … Sugimoto, A. (2021). Expression patterns and levels of all tubulin isotypes analyzed in gfp knock-in c. Elegans strains. Cell Structure and Function, 46(1), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1247/csf.21022
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