The effect of ionic strength in microtubule tactoid formation

Cell division via mitosis is one of the most important biological processes to sustain life. Microtubules, along with their associated proteins, crosslinkers, and enzymes, play a crucial role in the formation of the mitotic spindle. Previous studies on self-organization of microtubules showed that, in presence of polymer crowding agents, microtubules self-organize into bundles. Introducing certain concentrations of an antiparallel crosslinker, MAP65, in the system resulted in the bundles coalescing into homogenous, birefringent tactoids.