A cryo-ET study of microtubules in axons

Abstract

The microtubule cytoskeleton in axons plays key roles in intracellular transport and in defining cell shape. Despite many years of study of microtubules, many questions regarding their native architecture remain unanswered. Here, we performed cryo-electron tomography of mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and Drosophila melanogaster (Dm) neurons and examined their microtubule ultrastructure in situ. We found that the microtubule minus and plus ends in DRG axons are structurally similar and frequently contact nearby components. The microtubules in DRG axons maintained a 13 protofilament (pf) architecture, even close to lattice break sites. In contrast, microtubules in Dm neurons had 12 or 13 pfs and we detected sites of pf number transition. The microtubule lumen in DRG axons is filled with globular microtubule inner proteins (MIPs). Our data suggest these have a defined structure, which is surprising given they are thought to contain the disordered protein MAP6. In summary, we reveal novel morphological and structural features of microtubules in their native environment.