This study provides a comprehensive, high-resolution structural analysis of the central-pair microtubule apparatus of sperm flagella. It describes the arrangement of several microtubule-associated "sheath" components and suggests, contrary to previous thinking, that microtubules are structurally asymmetric. The two microtubules of the central pair are different in several respects: the C2 tubul...

Abstract The cytoskeleton determines cell mechanics and lies at the heart of important cellular functions. Growing evidence suggests that manifold tasks rely on interactions between its filamentous components—actin filaments, intermediate microtubules. However, nature these their impact cytoskeletal dynamics are largely unknown. Here, we show in a reconstituted vitro system vimentin filaments s...

Disassembling microtubules provide the driving forces behind chromosomal movement in dividing cells. This motion can occur independently of any conventional motor activity, and instead relies on tenacious attachment kinetochores to their dynamic microtubule substrates. During disassembly, thousands tubulin subunits are lost from tip per second even under tension, must maintain crumbling substra...

Melanophores offer an outstanding system for the study of intracellular motility. These cells aggregate their pigment-filled melanosomes to the cell center or disperse them throughout the cytoplasm in response to hormonal modulation of intracellular cyclic AMP levels in order to effect color changes in lower vertebrates [1]. Previous work from our laboratory demonstrated a role for microtubule-...

Promormyromasts were found in the epidermis of the head of the larvae of five species of mormyrids bred in captivity. The promormyromast is a larval electroreceptor belonging to the specific lateral line system. In 12-day-old larvae this electroreceptor is characterized by a single sensory cell and two types of accessory cells. One type of accessory cell has dark cytoplasm, few microtubules, an...

The distribution of leucine-(3)H in neurons was determined by electron-microscope radioautography after infusion of label into the spinal cord or sensory ganglia of regenerating newts. In the nerve cell bodies 3 days after infusion, the highest concentration of label per unit area occurred over the rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum. In the large brachial nerves, the silver grains were not di...

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) is the bidirectional movement of protein complexes required for cilia and flagella formation. We investigated IFT by analyzing nine conventional IFT genes and five novel putative IFT genes (PIFT) in Trypanosoma brucei that maintain its existing flagellum while assembling a new flagellum. Immunostaining against IFT172 or expression of tagged IFT20 or green fluoresc...

The fine structure of the developing spermatids and the mature sperm of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis was investigated. Immature spermatids are found at one end of the tubelike testis, and the mature sperm at the other. The spermatid has a prominent nucleus, with the chromatin clumped at the margin. It also contains a pair of centrioles, located near the nucleus. The cytoplasm is filled with rib...

During metaphase, chromosome position at the mitotic spindle equator is regulated by forces exerted kinetochore microtubules and polar ejection forces. However, role of arising from mechanical coupling sister fibers with bridging in alignment unknown. Here we develop an optogenetic approach for acute removal microtubule crosslinker PRC1 to disassemble show that they promote alignment. Tracking ...

Transport of intracellular cargos along microtubules is essential for the function and survival eukaryotic cells. While we know much about motors which perform this transport, significantly less known how transport controlled directed. One step process remains little understood binding to microtubules. In poster, explore what we’ve learned through several recent studies. We look at in different...