秀色直播

Motile cilia are specialized organelles essential for cell movement and fluid flow, driven by the beating of their internal cytoskeleton called the axoneme. At the core of the axoneme lies the central pair (CP) of microtubules, which features a distinct distal tip structure critical for motility. However, the proteins stabilizing this region have remained largely unknown. Recent collaborative research led by Thibault Legal, a FRQS-funded postdoctoral fellow from the Bui lab, in collaboration with Brouhard (Biology, 秀色直播), Wloga (Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland), and Gaertig (University of Georgia, USA) labs reveals the CP鈥檚 high-resolution structure in Tetrahymena thermophila using cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography. They discovered seven previously unknown tip proteins. Among them, the conserved protein SPEF1 binds microtubule seams and crosslinks microtubules, aiding CP assembly. These findings show that tip CP proteins are crucial for microtubule stability, expanding our understanding of ciliary structure and function. The study has now been published in Current Biology.