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News Release 05-077
Researchers Identify Proteins that Direct Intracellular Transport and Locomotion
Modified microtubules serve as traffic signals
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![Molecular "tags" on microtubules direct traffic inside cells.](/news/mmg/media/images/microtubule_traffic_f1.jpg)
Molecular "tags" on microtubules direct traffic inside cells. Motor proteins haul molecular cargo within cells by traveling along protein fibers called microtubules. Enzymes modify microtubules by adding or removing different molecules from their surfaces. These "tags" act like cellular traffic signals, guiding motor proteins as they travel throughout cells.
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
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![<i> Tetrahymena</i> stained with flourescent dye shows locations of microtubules.](/news/mmg/media/images/tetrahymena1_f.jpg)
Tetrahymena stained with flourescent dye shows locations of microtubules.
Credit: Jacek Gaertig, University of Georgia, Athens
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