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Microtubules are a well-studied class of cytoskeleton and serve numerous vital functions for the cell.
ey are the mechanical supports for cellular compartments and the roadways for active intracellu-
lar transport. A single microtubule consists of 13 parallel protolaments, each a linear chain of the
tubulin proteins connected end to end. e protolaments are attracted to each other lengthwise; so,
each microtubule is a 25-μm-diameter rod with a hollow core. Tubulin, the basic repeating unit, is a
heterodimer of
α
- and
β
-tubulins. One end of the tubulin dimer has an accessible, bound guanosine-5′-
triphosphate (GTP). is GTP can be hydroly ...