Cutting Crew

Cilia are hair-like antennae waving around on the surface of many of our cells – helping to waft away harmful pathogens away from our airways, for example, or being cut off to let developing neurons find their place in the brain. In fact ‘deciliation’ – where cilia are trimmed – is an important process to get right for our cells, and for these single-celled Paramecium tetraurelia. Scientists traced their cilia shedding to a handful of proteins working in the ‘transition zone’ above the base of the cilia (highlighted in green with purple tips). Although similar patterns develop when two of these proteins are blocked (middle and right), removing others left the cilia short. Investigating how a similar team of proteins works together in human cells might yield clues to how cilia are damaged by genetic disorders known as ciliopathies, and chemicals found in drugs and cigarette smoke.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image adapted from work by Delphine Gogendeau and colleagues
• Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS Biology, March 2020