Microtubule bending

A microtubule at the front of the cell is first bent and then dragged backwards. The microtubule (red, marked with an arrowhead) grows towards the front of the cell (top of images), but by 7'28" it is getting dragged backwards. This pushing on the microtubule probably comes from a backwards flow of actin. Often the microtubule ends up being broken as it is pushed further back in the cell, so its cargo, now destined for the back of the cell, may change. Figure courtesy of Ted Salmon. Copyright The Rockefeller University Press.