Howard lab unveils how severing enzymes control microtubule morphology

Image of Yin-Wei Kuo (Kris), Olivier Trottier and Jonathon Howard
November 13, 2019

Congratulations to graduate students Yin-Wei Kuo (Kris) and Olivier Trottier from the Howard Lab for their recently published article on the regulation of the numbers and lengths of microtubules by the katanin family of severing enzymes. These enzymes fragment microtubules into shorter filaments and are important for cell division and tissue development. Combining mathematical modeling and computational simulation, they provide new insights into how severing and dynamic instability can differentially regulate microtubule length and mass. These results advance the understanding of the physical basis of severing as a regulatory mechanism shaping the cellular cytoskeletal network.

Read about their article in this month’s issue of Biophysical Journal! See also Kris’ paper on Spastin in PNAS.

By Ivy Huang