Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2016 Sep 22;44:93–101. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2016.09.003

Figure 3. Potential mechanisms for ncMTOC formation.

Figure 3

(A) A division of labor model in which microtubules are nucleated at the centrosome, released, and then captured at a non-centrosomal site. Microtubules could be released with anchoring proteins attached or free minus ends could bind to anchoring and/or stabilizing proteins following their release. Microtubules are then transported to a non-centrosomal site via an unknown mechanism and captured by site-specific adapters. (B) Non-centrosomal microtubules could be nucleated, stabilized, and/or anchored from the sides of preexisting centrosomal microtubules and then transported along microtubules to non-centrosomal sites where they would interact with site specific adapters. (C) Microtubule minus end proteins could localize directly to non-centrosomal sites without a centrosome-based intermediate, where they would nucleate, stabilize, and anchor microtubules.