tubulin

[ too-byuh-lin, tyoo- ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. either of two globular proteins that form the structural subunits of microtubules.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tubulin¹

First recorded in 1965–70; tubule + -in ²

Example Sentences

Enzymes called DNA damage response kinases and tubulin acetyltransferase are the master regulators of the process, and promote the formation of the tubules.

From Science Daily

Inside cells, tubulin proteins form long, and incredibly thin rods called microtubules.

From Science Daily

Closed-ended TNTs are mainly formed from a network of the structural protein actin, but lack another structural protein, tubulin9 — and the authors found actin, but not tubulin, in their IP-TNTs.

From Nature

The researchers realized that the protein acts like a glue that holds together the microtubules, whose building blocks are another protein called tubulin.

From Scientific American

“I was looking for something that evoked tubulin—so, the Greek letter for T—and I wanted a name that didn’t presuppose that I understood at that time exactly how it worked,” he said.

From Scientific American