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PMID: 6941252 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Polarity of some motility-related microtubules.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ·Vol. 78 ·No. 1 ·1981-01-00 ·Pages 372-6

Euteneuer U, McIntosh JR

Abstract

We have investigated the structural polarity of microtubules from several systems in which these fibers are thought to contribute to cell motility. By using a method for displaying microtubule polarity in the electron microscope, we find that both the A and B subfibers of Tetrahymena ciliary outer doublets and the inner pair of single microtubules are all oriented with their plus ends (i.e., their fast-growing ends) distal to the basal body. All of the microtubules in the axopodia of the heliozoan Actinosphaerium and all of the microtubules in the processes of melanophores from the angelfish Pterophyllum are likewise oriented with their plus ends distal to the cell centers. These results suggest that cellular systems for motility, and even those capable of bidirectional motility, can be constructed from microtubules of a single polarity.

MeSH Terms
Animals Cattle Cell Movement Cilia/ultrastructure Eukaryota/ultrastructure Fishes/anatomy & histology Microscopy, Electron Microtubules/ultrastructure Movement Tetrahymena/ultrastructure
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Euteneuer U
McIntosh J R
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29 references, click to expand
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Article Info
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Abbr.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
ISSN
0027-8424
DOI
10.1073/pnas.78.1.372
Published
1981-01-00
Pages
372-6
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7505876
PMCID
PMC319055
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1073/pnas.78.1.372 PMC Full Text View journal details
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