Entrez Summary: Microtubules of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton perform essential and diverse functions and are composed of a heterodimer of alpha and beta tubulin. The genes encoding these microtubule constituents are part of the tubulin superfamily, which is composed of six distinct families. Genes from the alpha, beta and gamma tubulin families are found in all eukaryotes. The alpha and beta tubulins represent the major components of microtubules, while gamma tubulin plays a critical role in the nucleation of microtubule assembly. There are multiple alpha and beta tubulin genes and they are highly conserved among and between species. This gene encodes an alpha tubulin that is a highly conserved homolog of a rat testis-specific alpha tubulin. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2013].
UniProt Summary: Tubulin is the major constituent of microtubules. It binds two moles of GTP, one at an exchangeable site on the beta chain and one at a non-exchangeable site on the alpha chain.
Pfam DomainsGO Terms
Pfam Domains
Tubulin C
Tubulin
GO Terms
ciliary basal body-plasma membrane docking
structural constituent of cytoskeleton
platelet degranulation
G2/M transition of mitotic cell cycle
cell cycle G2/M phase transition
microtubule cytoskeleton
organelle localization by membrane tethering
membrane docking
regulation of G2/M transition of mitotic cell cycle