The structure of the dynactin complex and its interaction with dynein

Dynactin is an essential cofactor of the microtubule motor, cytoplasmic dynein. Dynactin contains 23 subunits built around a short filament of an actin-related protein (Arp1). How dynactin is assembled, how it functions with dynein, and why it is built around an actin-like filament is unclear. Urnavicius et al. combined cryo–electron microscopy structural studies and a crystal structure to determine the three-dimensional architecture of dynactin and how it interacts with dynein. Science , this issue p. [1441][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaa4080