Confinement size determines the architecture of Ran-induced microtubule networks. Author Ya Gai, Brian Cook, Sagar Setru, Howard Stone, Sabine Petry Publication Year 2021 Type Journal Article Abstract The organization of microtubules (MTs) is critical for cells during interphase and mitosis. During mitotic spindle assembly, MTs are made and organized around chromosomes in a process regulated by RanGTP. The role of RanGTP has been explored in Xenopus egg extracts, which are not limited by a cell membrane. Here, we investigated whether cell-sized confinements affect the assembly of RanGTP-induced MT networks in Xenopus egg extracts. We used microfluidics to encapsulate extracts within monodisperse extract-in-oil droplets. Importantly, we find that the architecture of Ran-induced MT networks depends on the droplet diameter and the Ran concentration, and differs from structures formed in bulk extracts. Our results highlight that both MT nucleation and physical confinement play critical roles in determining the spatial organization of the MT cytoskeleton. Keywords Microtubule-Associated Proteins, Xenopus Proteins, Microtubules, Spindle Apparatus, ran GTP-Binding Protein Journal Soft Matter Volume 17 Issue 24 Pages 5921-5931 Date Published 2021 Jun 28 ISSN Number 1744-6848 DOI 10.1039/d1sm00045d Alternate Journal Soft Matter PMCID PMC8958645 PMID 34041514 PubMedPubMed CentralGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML