This family includes the tubulin alpha, beta and gamma chains, as well as the bacterial FtsZ family of proteins. Misato from Drosophila and Dml1p from fungi are descendants of an ancestral tubulin-like protein, and exhibit regions with similarity to members of a GTPase family that includes eukaryotic tubulin and prokaryotic FtsZ. Dml1p and Misato have been co-opted into a role in mtDNA inheritance in yeast, and into a cell division-related mechanism in flies, respectively. Dml1p might additionally function in the partitioning of the mitochondrial organelle itself, or in the segregation of chromosomes, thereby explaining its essential requirement. This domain subject to extensive post-translational modifications.

1: Preliminary characterisation of DML1, an essential Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene related to misato of Drosophila melanogaster. Gurvitz A, Hartig A, Ruis H, Hamilton B, de Couet HG; FEMS Yeast Res. 2002;2:123-135. PMID:12702300

2: Human Misato regulates mitochondrial distribution and morphology. Kimura M, Okano Y; Exp Cell Res. 2007;313:1393-1404. PMID:17349998