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Neuronal development involves many morphological changes and events that are intimately dependent upon microtubules. These include neuronal migration, axonal and dendritic differentiation, growth, and branching, the navigation of the axon to its target, and the retraction of overgrown axons. Within the various compartments of developing neurons, microtubules take on a variety of different lengths and configurations, and undergo behaviors such as dynamic assembly and disassembly, stabilization, and transport. A growing body of evidence suggests that the microtubule behaviors that underlie neuronal morphogenesis may be regulated in part by interactions of the microtubules with the actin cytoskeleton. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of some of these microtubule–actin interactions and to discuss how these interactions may be important during the development of the neuron. The chapter includes discussions on signaling pathways, molecular motor proteins, classical and non-classical microtubule-associated proteins, and +TIPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The final goal of our group is to establish the missing link between chemical reaction and mechanical event in molecular motors. To achieve this, we have developed advanced versions of conventional optical microscopes and applied them into single-molecule techniques. In this chapter we present two studies: one is about the kinesin-microtubule system and the other F1-ATPase. These techniques are applicable to other molecular machines, hopefully in more sophisticated ways, and we hope to investigate this in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Mitotic Spindle Dynamics in Drosophila," by Ingrid Brust-Mascher and Jonathan M. Scholey, is presented.