Origin and development of free kinetosomes in the flagellates Deltotrichonympha and Koruga

Noncanonical Biogenesis of Centrioles and Basal Bodies

Centrioles and basal bodies (CBBs) organize centrosomes and cilia within eukaryotic cells. These organelles are composed of microtubules and hundreds of proteins performing multiple functions such as signaling, cytoskeleton remodeling, and cell motility. The CBB is present in all branches of the eukaryotic tree of life and, despite its ultrastructural and protein conservation, there is diversity in its function, occurrence (i.e., presence/absence), and modes of biogenesis across species. In this review, we provide an overview of the multiple pathways through which CBBs are formed in nature, with a special focus on the less studied, noncanonical ways. Despite the differences among each mechanism herein presented, we highlighted some of their common principles. These principles, governing different steps of biogenesis, ensure that CBBs may perform a multitude of functions in a huge diversity of organisms but yet retained their robustness in structure throughout evolution.

Rapid centriole assembly in Naegleria reveals conserved roles for both de novo and mentored assembly

Centrioles are eukaryotic organelles whose number and position are critical for cilia formation and mitosis. Many cell types assemble new centrioles next to existing ones ("templated" or mentored assembly). Under certain conditions, centrioles also form without pre-existing centrioles (de novo). The synchronous differentiation of Naegleria amoebae to flagellates represents a unique opportunity to study centriole assembly, as nearly 100% of the population transitions from having no centrioles to having two within minutes. Here, we find that Naegleria forms its first centriole de novo, immediately followed by mentored assembly of the second. We also find both de novo and mentored assembly distributed among all major eukaryote lineages. We therefore propose that both modes are ancestral and have been conserved because they serve complementary roles, with de novo assembly as the default when no pre-existing centriole is available, and mentored assembly allowing precise regulation of number, timing, and location of centriole assembly.

Basal body structure in Trichonympha

Trichonympha is a symbiotic flagellate of many species of termites and of the wood-feeding cockroach. Remarkably, this unicellular organism harbors up to over ten thousand flagella on its surface, which serve to propel it through the viscous environment of the host hindgut. In the 1960s, analysis of resin-embedded Trichonympha samples by electron microscopy revealed that the basal bodies that give rise to these flagella are exceptionally long, with a proximal, cartwheel-bearing, region some 50 times longer than that of regular centrioles. In recent years, this salient feature has prompted the analysis of the 3D architecture of Trichonympha basal bodies in the native state using cryo-electron tomography. The resulting ~40 Å resolution map of the basal body proximal region revealed a number of novel features that may be conserved in centrioles of other systems. These include proximal-distal polarity of the pinhead structure that links the cartwheel to centriolar microtubules, as well as of the linker between the A and the C microtubules. Moreover, this work demonstrated that the cartwheel is made of stacked ring-like structures that likely each comprise 18 molecules of SAS-6 proteins.

Cryo-electron tomography reveals conserved features of doublet microtubules in flagella

The axoneme forms the essential and conserved core of cilia and flagella. We have used cryo-electron tomography of Chlamydomonas and sea urchin flagella to answer long-standing questions and to provide information about the structure of axonemal doublet microtubules (DMTs). Solving an ongoing controversy, we show that B-tubules of DMTs contain exactly 10 protofilaments (PFs) and that the inner junction (IJ) and outer junction between the A- and B-tubules are fundamentally different. The outer junction, crucial for the initiation of doublet formation, appears to be formed by close interactions between the tubulin subunits of three PFs with unusual tubulin interfaces; other investigators have reported that this junction is weakened by mutations affecting posttranslational modifications of tubulin. The IJ consists of an axially periodic ladder-like structure connecting tubulin PFs of the A- and B-tubules. The recently discovered microtubule inner proteins (MIPs) on the inside of the A- and B-tubules are more complex than previously thought. They are composed of alternating small and large subunits with periodicities of 16 and/or 48 nm. MIP3 forms arches connecting B-tubule PFs, contrary to an earlier report that MIP3 forms the IJ. Finally, the "beak" structures within the B-tubules of Chlamydomonas DMT1, DMT5, and DMT6 are clearly composed of a longitudinal band of proteins repeating with a periodicity of 16 nm. These findings, discussed in relation to genetic and biochemical data, provide a critical foundation for future work on the molecular assembly and stability of the axoneme, as well as its function in motility and sensory transduction.

Basal body duplication in Paramecium: the key role of Bld10 in assembly and stability of the cartwheel

Basal bodies which nucleate cilia and flagella, and centrioles which organize centrosomes share the same architecture characterized by the ninefold symmetry of their microtubular shaft. Among the conserved proteins involved in the biogenesis of the canonical 9-triplet centriolar structures, Sas-6 and Bld10 proteins have been shown to play central roles in the early steps of assembly and in establishment/stabilization of the ninefold symmetry. Using fluorescent tagged proteins and RNAi to study the localization and function of these two proteins in Paramecium, we focused on the early effects of their depletion, the consequences of their overexpression and their functional interdependence. We find that both genes are essential and their depletion affects cartwheel assembly and hence basal body duplication. We also show that, contrary to Sas6p, Bld10p is not directly responsible for the establishment of the ninefold symmetry, but is required not only for new basal body assembly and stability but also for Sas6p maintenance at mature basal bodies. Finally, ultrastructural analysis of cells overexpressing either protein revealed two types of early assembly intermediates, hub-like structures and generative discs, suggesting a conserved scaffolding process.

Molecular phylogeny of parabasalids inferred from small subunit rRNA sequences, with emphasis on the Hypermastigea

Small subunit rRNA gene sequences were identified without cultivation from parabasalid symbionts of termites belonging to the hypermastigid orders Trichonymphida (the genera Hoplonympha, Staurojoenina, Teranympha, and Eucomonympha) and Spirotrichonymphida (Spirotrichonymphella), and from four yet-unidentified parabasalid symbionts of the termite Incisitermes minor. All these new sequences were analyzed by Bayesian, likelihood, and parsimony methods in a broad phylogeny including all identified parabasalid sequences available in databases and some as yet unidentified sequences probably derived from hypermastigids. A salient point of our study focused on hypermastigids was the polyphyly of this class. We also noted a clear dichotomy between Trichonymphida and the other parabasalid taxa. However, this hypermastigid order was apparently polyphyletic, probably reflecting its morphological diversity. Among Trichonymphida, Teranympha (Teranymphidae) grouped together with the members of the family Eucomonymphidae, suggesting that its family status is ambiguous. The monophyletic lineage composed by Spirotrichonymphida exhibited a narrower branching pattern than Trichonymphida. The root of parabasalids was examined but could not be discerned accurately.

Bld10p, a novel protein essential for basal body assembly in Chlamydomonas: localization to the cartwheel, the first ninefold symmetrical structure appearing during assembly

How centrioles and basal bodies assemble is a long-standing puzzle in cell biology. To address this problem, we analyzed a novel basal body-defective Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutant isolated from a collection of flagella-less mutants. This mutant, bld10, displayed disorganized mitotic spindles and cytoplasmic microtubules, resulting in abnormal cell division and slow growth. Electron microscopic observation suggested that bld10 cells totally lack basal bodies. The product of the BLD10 gene (Bld10p) was found to be a novel coiled-coil protein of 170 kD. Immunoelectron microscopy localizes Bld10p to the cartwheel, a structure with ninefold rotational symmetry positioned near the proximal end of the basal bodies. Because the cartwheel forms the base from which the triplet microtubules elongate, we suggest that Bld10p plays an essential role in an early stage of basal body assembly. A viable mutant having such a severe basal body defect emphasizes the usefulness of Chlamydomonas in studying the mechanism of basal body/centriole assembly by using a variety of mutants.

Locomotory waves of Koruga and Deltotrichonympha: flagella wag the cell

We investigated the nature of the locomotory waves of Koruga and Deltotrichonympha, flagellates living symbiotically in the hindgut of the Australian termite Mastotermes darwiniensis. The locomotory waves consist of two components: metachronal waves of flagellar beating and undulations of the cell surface, which propagate synchronously with the same wavelength, frequency, and velocity. We asked, do body waves cause flagellar waves, or vice versa? Using video microscopy and selective inhibitors and drugs, we found that (1) the amplitude of flagellar waves remains constant independent of variations in the amplitude of body waves, (2) flagellar waves can occur in the complete absence of body waves, (3) flagellar waves can induce body waves on swollen regions, (4) inhibition of flagellar beating by dynein inhibitors causes disappearance of body waves, and (5) cytochalasin D induces changes in cell shape but does not inhibit locomotory waves. Therefore, flagellar waves are not produced passively by an active contractile system in the cell cortex; instead, metachronally beating flagella exert waves of pressure that induce passive undulations of a pliant cell surface. These results support Machemer's [1974] theoretical analysis of the data of Cleveland and Cleveland [1966: Arch. Protistenk. 109:39-63], who believed the opposite.

Structural and functional characteristics of the centrosome in gametogenesis and early embryogenesis of animals

We present a description of the wide spectrum of centrosome behavior during gametogenesis, early development, and cell differentiation. During meiosis and terminal differentiation of gametes there occurs a process of centrosome maturation which includes alterations in characteristics such as the number of centriolar cylinders and their structure if the basal body is formed and ability to function as MTOC, reduplicate, split, and serve as a polar organizer. Such centrosome properties require modifications of the molecular composition. Maturation of the centrosome in gametes may be compared to transformation of centrosome characteristics during terminal differentiation of other cells. After fertilization different properties of maternal and paternal centrosomes are supposed to combine, adding to each other in the fused (hybrid) centrosome of a zygote. Restoration of centrosome features typical in diploid somatic cells takes place in cells of a developing embryo in the course of early cell cycles.

The iris diaphragm model of centriole and basal body formation

This paper suggests that the formation and structure of the microtubular skeleton of centrioles and basal bodies can be derived from the following simple geometric principle. A closed ring of nine microtubular initiation sites defines (1) a template for the packing of 18 additional microtubular initiation sites, and (2) the shape of nine rigid arms. Upon swivelling of each arm around a point located four initiation sites away on the initial ring, the array unfolds in a manner similar to the opening of an iris diaphragm. As a consequence, the curved shape of the microtubular triplet blades arises together with the clockwise rotational sense of the slanted blades of the centriole or basal body. The final diameter of the centriole (basal body) self-adjusts. Furthermore, the pitch of the triplet blades, the taper of centrioles and basal bodies, and the change of slant of the blades towards the distal end can be derived. In addition, the model points to a method of replication of pro-centrioles (pro-basal bodies). The hypothesis was tested by the fitting of electron microscopical cross sections of centrioles of 3T3 cells to the geometric shapes predicted by the model.