Question

What are nucleotide triphosphates?

Which of the nucleotide triphosphates is hydrolyzed by β-tubulin and why?

Answer 1

Nucleotide triphosphates serve as the source of energy for cellular reactions and are involved in signalling pathways which contain a nitrogenous base bound to a 5-carbon sugar that may be a ribose or deoxyribose, along with three phospate groups that are bound to the sugar. This nucleotide triphosphate is an example of nucleotide.

Guanosine triphosphate is the neucleoside triphosphate which gets hydrolyzed by beta tubulin.

The heterodimer formed by an alpha and a beta tubulin molecule during the polymerisation of microtubule carry 2 GTP molecules which are hydrolysed to GDP molecules by tubulin dimers on adding them to the plus end of growing microtubule.