Objective: UPlanSApo 100x oil/1.40	Exposure: 350 ms
Microscope: Olympus DSU/IX81	Gain: 3
Camera: Hamamatsu ImagEM	Interval: 2 s

Since eukaryotic cells greatly depend upon the integrity of microtubules and other cytoskeletal filaments to maintain their structure and essentially to survive, many plants produce natural toxins aimed at disrupting the microtubule network as a means of self-defense. Taxol, for example, is a toxic substance produced by a species of yew trees that increases microtubule polymerization (building a macromolecule) by binding to the filament and stabilizing it. Other natural toxins, such as the colchicine produced by the meadow saffron, destabilize microtubules and hinder their polymerization. Both kinds of events can be fatal to the affected cell, though in some circumstances, this can be beneficial to animals, as demonstrated by taxol, which is commonly used as a cancer medication. The digital video in this section illustrates the tracking of microtubule +TIPs (plus end tracking proteins) in Gray fox lung fibroblast cells labeled with a chimera of microtubule end-binding protein EB3 fused to monomeric Kusabira Orange fluorescent protein, which is pseudocolored red for optimum visualization.