Microtubules of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton perform essential and diverse functions and are composed of a heterodimer of alpha and beta tubulin. The genes encoding these microtubule constituents are part of the tubulin superfamily, which is composed of six distinct families. Genes from the alpha, beta and gamma tubulin families are found in all eukaryotes. The alpha and beta tubulins represent the major components of microtubules, while gamma tubulin plays a critical role in the nucleation of microtubule assembly. There are multiple alpha and beta tubulin genes and they are highly conserved among and between species. This gene is an alpha tubulin gene that encodes a protein 99% to the mouse testis-specific Tuba3 and Tuba7 gene products. This gene is located in the 13q11 region, which is associated with the genetic diseases Clouston hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia and Kabuki syndrome. Alternative splicing has been observed for this gene and two variants have been identified.[4]
