spindle microtubule

GO:0005876 · Cytoskeleton · Filament · Proposed

Any microtubule that is part of a mitotic or meiotic spindle; anchored at one spindle pole. [GO:0005876]

Part of: GO:0005819 — spindle (no local record)

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Stoichiometry	Essential	Role
alpha- and beta-tubulins	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)			ESSENTIAL	Eukaryotic tubulin subunits that polymerize into the microtubules of the mitotic and meiotic spindle. `GO:0005876` GO:0005876 identifies a spindle microtubule as a microtubule that is part of a mitotic or meiotic spindle. `GO:0005874` GO:0005874 defines microtubules as eukaryotic hollow tubes made from polymeric tubulin protofilaments. `DOI:10.1126/science.277.5325.574` Straight et al. 1997 imaged GFP-Tub1-labeled spindle microtubules in living Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast has a nuclear mitotic spindle whose spindle microtubules extend from spindle pole bodies to kinetochores or the opposite spindle pole. [DOI:10.1083/jcb.129.6.1601]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Reference microbial eukaryote in which kinetochore and interpolar spindle microtubules were reconstructed by serial-section electron microscopy. [DOI:10.1083/jcb.129.6.1601]

Functions

chromosome segregation GO:0007059 — Spindle microtubules form the spindle array that attaches to kinetochores and separates duplicated chromosomes.
- GO:0005819 — spindle GO:0005819 defines the spindle as an array of microtubules and associated molecules that serves to move duplicated chromosomes apart.
- DOI:10.1126/science.277.5325.574 Straight et al. 1997 visualized chromosome movement and spindle dynamics in living budding yeast cells.

Mechanism graphs

Spindle microtubules bridge budding-yeast spindle poles and kinetochores (FUNCTION)

Alpha- and beta-tubulins polymerize into budding-yeast spindle microtubules that are organized by spindle pole bodies and attach to kinetochores during mitosis.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
alpha- and beta-tubulins	polymerize into	spindle microtubule	`GO:0005876` GO:0005876 identifies spindle microtubules as microtubules. `GO:0005874` GO defines microtubules as polymeric tubulin protofilament tubes.
spindle pole body	anchors	spindle microtubule	`GO:0005876` GO:0005876 defines spindle microtubules as anchored at one spindle pole. `DOI:10.1146/annurev.cellbio.20.022003.114106` Jaspersen and Winey 2004 reviewed the budding-yeast spindle pole body as the nuclear microtubule-organizing center.
spindle microtubule	is part of	mitotic spindle	`GO:0072686` GO:0072686 identifies the mitotic spindle as a spindle that forms during mitosis. `DOI:10.1083/jcb.129.6.1601` Winey et al. 1995 reconstructed budding-yeast mitotic spindles from serial electron micrographs and classified their microtubule bundles.
spindle microtubule	attaches to	kinetochore	`GO:0000776` GO:0000776 defines the kinetochore as a centromeric complex that provides a spindle-microtubule attachment point. `DOI:10.1083/jcb.129.6.1601` Winey et al. 1995 reconstructed budding-yeast spindles containing presumptive kinetochore microtubules and interpolar microtubules.

Discussions

INTERPRETATION (RESOLVED): Keep spindle pole bodies and kinetochores as adjacent organizing or attachment structures rather than molecular components of the spindle microtubule. GO:0005876 denotes the anchored tubulin polymer that is part of a spindle. Spindle pole bodies and kinetochores physically interact with spindle microtubules in budding yeast, but each is a separately GO-denoted structure rather than a molecular constituent of the microtubule filament.
CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral groundings for spindle microtubule motors and microtubule-associated proteins. This record captures the GO-backed tubulin-polymer boundary for the spindle microtubule itself and defers the taxon-specific spindle motor and microtubule-associated protein set.

Evidence

GO:0005876 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the spindle microtubule.
GO:0005874 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for the microtubule.
GO:0005819 — spindle Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the enclosing spindle.
GO:0072686 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the mitotic spindle.
GO:0005816 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the fungal spindle pole body.
GO:0000776 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the kinetochore.
GO:0007059 Gene Ontology biological-process term for chromosome segregation.
DOI:10.1083/jcb.129.6.1601 Winey et al. 1995, Three-dimensional ultrastructural analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitotic spindle, Journal of Cell Biology.
DOI:10.1126/science.277.5325.574 Straight et al. 1997, Mitosis in Living Budding Yeast: Anaphase A But No Metaphase Plate, Science.
DOI:10.1146/annurev.cellbio.20.022003.114106 Jaspersen and Winey 2004 reviewed spindle pole body structure, duplication, and mitotic-spindle assembly in budding yeast.

Curation history

2026-09-23T20:00:52Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-23T20:01:52Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added microtubule parentage and spindle parthood, an alpha/beta-tubulin constituent, Saccharomyces cerevisiae scope, a chromosome-segregation function, GO and DOI evidence, a nonmechanistic budding-yeast spindle-microtubule architecture graph, and boundary and MAP curation discussions.
2026-09-23T20:11:05Z codex · ADDRESS_REVIEW — Resolved #1423 by narrowing the canonical Saccharomyces cerevisiae example to the serial-section electron-microscopy reconstruction supported by DOI:10.1083/jcb.129.6.1601.

Source: data/structures/cytoskeleton/spindle_microtubule.yaml