Biology
A subscription to JoVE is required to view this content.
You will only be able to see the first 20 seconds.
Summary March 15th, 2014
Microtubules are inherently unstable polymers, and their switching between growth and shortening is stochastic and difficult to control. Here we describe protocols using segmented microtubules with photoablatable stabilizing caps. Depolymerization of segmented microtubules can be triggered with high temporal and spatial resolution, thereby assisting analysis of motions with the disassembling microtubule ends.