Table 1.
Tubulin concentrations in interphase and mitotic wild-type cells.
| Interphase (G1-S) | Interphase (G2) | Mitosis (M) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cell length (μm) | 7.38 ± 0.43 | 12.82 ± 1.16 | 14.62 ± 1.46 |
| Cell width (μm) | 2.94 ± 0.14 | 3.03 ± 0.11 | 2.96 ± 0.13 |
| Cell volume (μm3) | 43.36 ± 3.35 | 85.32 ± 11.21 | 93.76 ± 13.10 |
| Number of MT bundles | 3.71 ± 0.49 | 4.11 ± 0.60 | vary, * |
| Tip-to-tip length of bundles | 5.29 ± 1.55 | 8.48 ± 2.92 | vary, * |
| Total MT polymer length (μm) | 22.82 ± 3.70 | 40.94 ± 5.00 | 47.86 ± 4.59 |
| Fraction of tubulin in MT polymer (%) | 35 | 34 | 26 |
| Fraction of tubulin in cytoplasm (%) | 65 | 66 | 74 |
| Total tubulin subunit per cell | 1.06 ± 0.30 × 105 | 1.97 ± 0.24 × 105 | 3.02 ± 0.45 × 105 |
| Total tubulin concentration in cell (μM) | 4.04 ± 0.24 | 3.83 ± 0.32 | 5.35 ± 0.55 |
| Tubulin concentration in MT (μM) | 1.41 ± 0.24 | 1.30 ± 0.32 | 1.39 ± 0.55 |
| Tubulin concentration in cytoplasm (μM) | 2.63 ± 0.24 | 2.53 ± 0.32 | 3.96 ± 0.55 |
| § Corrected total tubulin subunit per cell | 1.41 ± 0.40 × 105 | 2.62 ± 0.32 × 105 | |
| § Corrected total tubulin concentration in cell (μM) | 5.37 ± 0.32 | 5.09 ± 0.43 | |
| § Corrected concentration in MT (μM) | 1.88 ± 0.32 | 1.73 ± 0.43 | |
| § Corrected concentration in cytoplasm (μM) | 3.49 ± 0.32 | 3.36 ± 0.43 | |
| Cells measured (N) | 7 | 9 | 6 |
G1-S interphase cells are short 7–9 μm pre-NETO cells; G2 interphase cells are long 9–14 μm post-NETO cells [29]. § Note: Our optical microscopy method cannot resolve short MTs <0.5 μm in length. Therefore, we may have systematically underestimated the tubulin concentrations in interphase cells by ~33% (see Discussion). Thus, we also report the corrected values. * Note: Values for mitotic spindle MTs are reported in Figure 4D. Values are mean ± s.d.