Abstract
Microtubules are largely composed of proteins called tubulins. These are stacked in linear arrays called protofilaments (p). Most microtubules have precisely 13p (ref. 1). The ‘incomplete’ B and C microtubules (10 or 11p) of cilia, flagella, basal bodies and centrioles are widespread exceptions2,3. Very few examples of ‘complete’ microtubules with more, or less, than 13p have been found4–7. However, the ‘ciliate cell’ includes a larger number of highly differentiated types of microtubule arrays than most other cell types8–10. The present study was undertaken to ascertain whether there is variation in p number in two ciliates. In both, all complete cytoplasmic microtubules examined have 13p but microtubules with 13–16p are present in the nucleoplasm of dividing nuclei. These features are probably common to ciliates in general because the free-living hymenostone Paramecium tetraurelia and the parasitic heterotrich Nycotherusovalis are not closely related in terms of taxonomic criteria11 or life-style.
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Eichenlaub-Ritter, U., Tucker, J. Microtubules with more than 13 protofilaments in the dividing nuclei of ciliates. Nature 307, 60–62 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/307060a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/307060a0
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