Architecture of the centriole cartwheel‐containing region revealed by cryo‐electron tomography

Abstract: Centrioles are evolutionarily conserved barrels of microtubule triplets that form the core of the centrosome and the base of the cilium. While the crucial role of the proximal region in centriole biogenesis has been well documented, its native architecture and evolutionary conservation remain relatively unexplored. Here, using cryo‐electron tomography of centrioles from four evolutionarily distant species, we report on the architectural diversity of the centriole's proximal cartwheel‐bearing region. Our work reveals that the cartwheel central hub is constructed from a stack of paired rings with cartwheel inner densities inside. In both Paramecium and Chlamydomonas, the repeating structural unit of the cartwheel has a periodicity of 25 nm and consists of three ring pairs, with 6 radial spokes emanating and merging into a single bundle that connects to the microtubule triplet via the D2‐rod and the pinhead. Finally, we identified that the cartwheel is indirectly connected to the A‐C linker through the triplet base structure extending from the pinhead. Together, our work provides unprecedented evolutionary insights into the architecture of the centriole proximal region, which underlies centriole biogenesis.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Architecture of the centriole cartwheel‐containing region revealed by cryo‐electron tomography ; volume:39 ; number:22 ; year:2020 ; extent:17 ; The EMBO journal / European Molecular Biology Organization ; 39, Heft 22 (2020) (gesamt 17)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Klena, Nikolai ; Le Guennec, Maeva ; Tassin, Anne‐Marie ; van den Hoek, Hugo ; Erdmann, Philipp S. ; Schaffer, Miroslava ; Geimer, Stefan ; Aeschlimann, Gabriel ; Kovacik, Lubomir ; Sadian, Yashar ; Goldie, Kenneth N. ; Stahlberg, Henning ; Engel, Benjamin D. ; Hamel, Virginie ; Guichard, Paul

Further information

• DOI: 10.15252/embj.2020106246
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022062811304882376015
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:25 AM CEST