Growth Cone-Localized Microtubule Organizing Center Establishes Microtubule Orientation in Dendrites

A polarized arrangement of neuronal microtubule arrays is the foundation of membrane trafficking and subcellular compartmentalization. Conserved among both invertebrates and vertebrates, axons contain exclusively "plus-end-out" microtubules while dendrites contain a high percentage of "minus-end-out" microtubules, the origins of which have been a mystery. Here we show that the dendritic growth cone contains a non-centrosomal microtubule organizing center (ncMTOC), which generates minus-end-out microtubules along outgrowing dendrites and plus-end-out microtubules in the growth cone. RAB-11-positive recycling endosomes accumulate in this region and are responsible for localizing the microtubule nucleation complex {gamma}-TuRC. The MTOC tracks the extending growth cone by kinesin-1/UNC-116-mediated endosome movements on distal plus-end-out microtubules and dynein-mediated endosome clustering near MTOC. Critically, perturbation of the function or localization of the MTOC causes reversed microtubule polarity in dendrites. These findings unveil the dendritic MTOC as a critical organelle for establishing axon-dendrite polarity.