The ultrastructure of the somatic cortex of Pseudomicrothorax dubius: structure and function of the epiplasm in ciliated protozoa

1977 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 367-385
Author(s):  
R.K. Peck
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Ciliated Protozoa ◽  
Somatic Cortex ◽  
And Function

The ultrastructure of the somatic cortex of the ciliate Pseudomicrothorax dubius is studied with emphasis on the epiplasm layer which lies immediately under the inner alveolar membrane and is continuous with the terminal plates of cortical basal bodies. In addition to a clearly demonstrable cytoskeletal role, the epiplasm appears to function as a comenting substance which integrates numerous cortical fibres and membranes. The kinetodesmal, postciliary and transverse fibre systems which originate at the proximal ends of basal bodies extend toward the cell surface and end at or in the epiplasm. Inner alveolar membranes and trichocyst membranes are attached to the epiplasm. Basal bodies are anchored into the epiplasm via their terminal plates. The epiplasm appears to be morphogenetically important as a matrix into which newly formed basal bodies insert. Electron-opaque arms occur at the terminal plate level of new basal bodies, and these arms fuse with the epiplasm when basal body insertion occurs. The position of trichocysts in the cortex is specified by the epiplasm. Evidence from numerous other ciliates tends to confirm both structural and morphogenetic roles of the epiplasm.

Structure and function of complement C5 convertase enzymes

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1006-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Pangburn ◽  
N. Rawal
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Alternative Pathway ◽  
Membrane Attack Complex ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Regulatory Proteins ◽  
Covalent Attachment ◽  
Cleavage Rate ◽  
And Function ◽  
Natural Decay ◽  
The Complement System

The multisubunit enzymes of the complement system that cleave C5 have many unusual properties, the most striking of which is that they acquire their specificity for C5 following cleavage of another substrate C3. C5 convertases are assemblies of two proteins C4b and C2a (classical or lectin pathways) or C3b and Bb (alternative pathway) and additional C3b molecules. The catalytic complexes (C4b, C2a or C3b, Bb) are intrinsically unstable (t1,2 = 1–3 min) and the enzymes are controlled by numerous regulatory proteins that accelerate this natural decay rate. Immediately after assembly, the bi-molecular enzymes preferentially cleave the protein C3 and exhibit poor activity toward C5 (a Km of approx. 25 μM and a C5 cleavage rate of 0.3-1 C5/min at Vmax). Efficient C3 activation results in the covalent attachment of C3b to the cell surface and to the enzyme itself, resulting in formation of C3b-C3b and C4b-C3b complexes. Our studies have shown that deposition of C3b alters the specificity of the enzymes of both pathways by changing the Km for C5 more than 1000-fold from far above the physiological C5 concentration to far below it. Thus, after processing sufficient C3 at the surface of a microorganism, the enzymes switch to processing C5, which initiates the formation of the cytolytic membrane attack complex of complement.

scholarly journals Immunoelectron microscopic demonstration of S-100b protein-like in centriole, cilia, and basal body.

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 693-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Uchida ◽  
T Endo
Keyword(s):  
Basal Body ◽  
Colloidal Gold ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Ultrastructural Localization ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Cell Organelles ◽  
Gold Particles ◽  
Microscopic Demonstration ◽  
S 100 ◽  
And Function

We report here the ultrastructural localization of S-100b protein-like immunoreactivity in the centriole, cilia, and basal body. Duodenum and trachea of guinea pigs and rats were fixed and immunostained by the protein A-gold method. All centrioles, cilia, and basal bodies observed showed clear S-100b protein-like immunoreactivity. Specific colloidal gold particles were located over the microtubules in these cell organelles. However, other microtubules scattered throughout the cytoplasm were devoid of immunoreactivity. Although the functional significance of S-100b protein-like immunoreactivity in the centriole, cilia, and basal bodies remains to be elucidated, the present results introduce new perspectives into the investigation of localization and function of S-100 proteins.

scholarly journals The Mammalian UDP‐Galactose 4′‐Epimerase (GalE) Is Required for Cell Surface Glycome Structure and Function

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa T Florwick ◽  
Alex Broussard ◽  
Chelsea Desbiens ◽  
Nicole Nischan ◽  
Corrina Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
And Function

scholarly journals Isolation of the Buchnera aphidicola flagellum basal body complexes from the Buchnera membrane

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0245710
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Schepers ◽  
James N. Yelland ◽  
Nancy A. Moran ◽  
David W. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Basal Body ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Cellular Membrane ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Bacterial Symbiont ◽  
Structural Proteins ◽  
Buchnera Aphidicola ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
And Function ◽  
Aphid Host

Buchnera aphidicola is an intracellular bacterial symbiont of aphids and maintains a small genome of only 600 kbps. Buchnera is thought to maintain only genes relevant to the symbiosis with its aphid host. Curiously, the Buchnera genome contains gene clusters coding for flagellum basal body structural proteins and for flagellum type III export machinery. These structures have been shown to be highly expressed and present in large numbers on Buchnera cells. No recognizable pathogenicity factors or secreted proteins have been identified in the Buchnera genome, and the relevance of this protein complex to the symbiosis is unknown. Here, we show isolation of Buchnera flagellum basal body proteins from the cellular membrane of Buchnera, confirming the enrichment of flagellum basal body proteins relative to other proteins in the Buchnera proteome. This will facilitate studies of the structure and function of the Buchnera flagellum structure, and its role in this model symbiosis.

scholarly journals A nucleus-basal body connector in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that may function in basal body localization or segregation.

1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 1903-1912 ◽  
Author(s):  
R L Wright ◽  
J Salisbury ◽  
J W Jarvik
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Electron Microscopic Observation ◽  
Variable Number ◽  
Immunofluorescent Staining ◽  
Major Protein ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
And Function

We have isolated a nucleus-basal body complex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The complex is strongly immunoreactive to an antibody generated against a major protein constituent of isolated Tetraselmis striata flagellar roots (Salisbury, J. L., A. Baron, B. Surek, and M. Melkonian, J. Cell Biol., 99:962-970). Electrophoretic and immunoelectrophoretic analysis indicates that, like the Tetraselmis protein, the Chlamydomonas antigen consists of two acidic isoforms of approximately 20 kD. Indirect immunofluorescent staining of nucleus-basal body complexes reveals two major fibers in the connector region, one between each basal body and the nucleus. The nucleus is also strongly immunoreactive, with staining radiating around much of the nucleus from a region of greatest concentration at the connector pole. Calcium treatment causes shortening of the connector fibers and also movement of nuclear DNA towards the connector pole. Electron microscopic observation of negatively stained nucleus-basal body complexes reveals a cluster of approximately 6-nm filaments, suspected to represent the connector, between the basal bodies and nuclei. A mutant with a variable number of flagella, vfl-2-220, is defective with respect to the nucleus-basal body association. This observation encourages us to speculate that the nucleus-basal body union is important for accurate basal body localization within the cell and/or for accurate segregation of parental and daughter basal bodies at cell division. A physical association between nuclei and basal bodies or centrioles has been observed in a variety of algal, protozoan, and metazoan cells, although the nature of the association, in terms of both structure and function, has been obscure. We believe it likely that fibrous connectors homologous to those described here for Chlamydomonas are general features of centriole-bearing eucaryotic cells.

scholarly journals Zebrafish: a vertebrate tool for studying basal body biogenesis, structure, and function

Cilia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan A. Marshall ◽  
Daniel P. S. Osborn
Keyword(s):  
Basal Body ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
And Function

scholarly journals Three-dimensional Organization of Basal Bodies from Wild-Type and δ-Tubulin Deletion Strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 2999-3012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen T. O'Toole ◽  
Thomas H. Giddings ◽  
J. Richard McIntosh ◽  
Susan K. Dutcher
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tubulin Isoforms ◽  
Striated Fiber ◽  
And Function

Improved methods of specimen preparation and dual-axis electron tomography have been used to study the structure and organization of basal bodies in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Novel structures have been found in both wild type and strains with mutations that affect specific tubulin isoforms. Previous studies have shown that strains lacking δ-tubulin fail to assemble the C-tubule of the basal body. Tomographic reconstructions of basal bodies from the δ-tubulin deletion mutant uni3-1 have confirmed that basal bodies contain mostly doublet microtubules. Our methods now show that the stellate fibers, which are present only in the transition zone of wild-type cells, repeat within the core of uni3-1 basal bodies. The distal striated fiber is incomplete in this mutant, rootlet microtubules can be misplaced, and multiflagellate cells have been observed. A suppressor of uni3-1, designated tua2-6, contains a mutation in α-tubulin. tua2-6; uni3-1 cells build both flagella, yet they retain defects in basal body structure and in rootlet microtubule positioning. These data suggest that the presence of specific tubulin isoforms in Chlamydomonas directly affects the assembly and function of both basal bodies and basal body-associated structures.

scholarly journals THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FINE STRUCTURE AND DIRECTION OF BEAT IN GILL CILIA OF A LAMELLIBRANCH MOLLUSC

1961 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. R. Gibbons
Keyword(s):  
Fine Structure ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Transitional Region ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Conical Structure ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Basal Foot ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Outer Fiber

This paper describes the fine structure and its relationship to the direction of beat in four types of cilia on the gill of the fresh-water mussel Anodonta cataracta. The cilia contain nine outer, nine secondary, and two central fibers, such as have been described previously in other material. Each outer fiber is a doublet with one subfiber bearing arms. One particular pair of outer fibers (numbers 5 and 6) are joined together by a bridge. The two central fibers are enclosed by a central sheath; also present in this region is a single, small mid-fiber. The different groups of fibers are connected together by radial links that extend from the outer to the secondary fibers, and from the secondary fibers to the central sheath. The basal body consists of a cylinder of nine triplet fibers. Projecting from it on one side is a dense conical structure called the basal foot. The cylinder of outer fibers continues from the basal body into the cilium, passing through a complex transitional region in which five distinct changes of structure occur at different levels. There are two sets of fibers associated with the basal bodies: a pair of striated rootlets that extends from each basal body down into the cell, and a system of fine tubular fibers that runs parallel to the cell surface. The relationship between fine structure and direction of beat is the same in all four types of cilia examined. The plane of beat is perpendicular to the plane of the central fibers, with the effective stroke toward the bridge between outer fibers 5 and 6, and toward the foot on the basal body.

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