Regulation of biological processes by encoding information into the microtubule cytoskeleton

ABSTRACT: 
	All living cells are equipped with a complex network of proteinous fibres known as the cytoskeleton. While the name “skeleton” suggests rigid structures that help shaping the cells, this skeleton is surprisingly dynamic and is involved in a variety of functions, such as transport processes, force generation, or intracellular compartmentalization.

	I will focus on the largest cytoskeletal component, the microtubules. Microtubules are hollow cylinders assembled from a protein called “tubulin”. Microtubules carry out unique roles in the segregation of the genetic material during cell division, the function of nerve cells, or the formation of motile organelles, cilia and flagella. Many microtubule functions have been directly related to the dynamic behaviour of these filaments. For example, the repetitive switching between polymerization and disassembly, as well as to their highly complex interactions with many microtubule-associated proteins.

	I will present the latest advances in the research on the microtubule cytoskeleton, which show that the heterogeneity of the microtubules regulates its functions. I will discuss the exciting possibility that the signals generated on microtubules provide all encoding functionally relevant information into the microtubule cytoskeleton.