Access

Letter

Nature 444, 619-623 (30 November 2006) | doi:10.1038/nature05318; Received 25 August 2006; Accepted 6 October 2006

Open Innovation Challenges

naturejobs

Centriole assembly in Caenorhabditis elegans

Laurence Pelletier1, Eileen O'Toole2, Anne Schwager1, Anthony A. Hyman1 & Thomas Müller-Reichert1

  1. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany
  2. Boulder Laboratory for 3D Electron Microscopy of Cells, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Campus Box 347, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA

Correspondence to: Laurence Pelletier1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to L.P. (Email: pelletie@mpi-cbg.de).

Top

Centrioles are necessary for flagella and cilia formation1, 2, cytokinesis3, 4, cell-cycle control5 and centrosome organization/spindle assembly6. They duplicate once per cell cycle, but the mechanisms underlying their duplication remain unclear. Here we show using electron tomography of staged C. elegans one-cell embryos that daughter centriole assembly begins with the formation and elongation of a central tube followed by the peripheral assembly of nine singlet microtubules. Tube formation and elongation is dependent on the SAS-5 and SAS-6 proteins, whereas the assembly of singlet microtubules onto the central tube depends on SAS-4. We further show that centriole assembly is triggered by an upstream signal mediated by SPD-2 and ZYG-1. These results define a structural pathway for the assembly of a daughter centriole and should have general relevance for future studies on centriole assembly in other organisms.

MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS

These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.

NEWS AND VIEWS

Uncoiling centriole duplication

Nature Cell Biology News and Views (01 Jul 2004)

Centriole biogenesis: a tale of two pathways

Nature Cell Biology News and Views (01 Jul 2007)