Microtubules are made up of hollow tubes that make up a network to move organelles everywhere inside the eukaryotic cell.
They are made of thick microfilaments and consist of thousands of subunit spirals that are very strong and are aligned in 13 columns.
The subunits are made of the substance “tubulin” and this is why microtubules have their name.
They give the cell its rigidity, shape and organization. Microtubules have been given the nickname of the cell’s “railroad” because they act as a kind of conveyor belt for a lot of the structures that need to move around.
Every eukaryotic cell will have a network of microtubules. Eukaryotic cells are those cells that have a nucleus.
The network system acts to move organelles all around the cell and it also helps to keep the organelles organized so that the cell is healthy.
Microtubules are considered to be part of the cell’s cytoskeleton and helps with the cell’s shape. They are the largest type of filaments that are found in a cell.
Another job that microtubules are responsible for is in helping to move the chromosomes when it’s time for the cell to divide.
In this job the mitotic spindles that are needed for cell division in both meiosis and mitosis are made of microtubules. They pull the cell apart by attaching centrioles to the chromosomes.
Cells often have tails called “cilia” and “flagella” that help them move around and swim. These tails are made of long strands of microtubules.
The cilia and flagella act kind of like the propeller of a boat so that they can get from one point to another.
One of the ways that cells reproduce is through mitosis. This is the process of a cell dividing to create copies of itself.
There is a lot of preparation involved to get ready for mitosis and microtubules are a major player.
Centrioles are organelles that are made up of microtubules and after they are duplicated the centrioles move to opposite cell side.
Mitotic spindles which are thin microtubule filaments attach the centrioles to the chromosomes that are lined up and they pull apart the chromosomes so that they split apart to create two different cells.
Without the help of microtubules, cells would never be able to reproduce.
Microtubules Quiz
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