De novo formation of basal bodies during cellular differentiation of Naegleria gruberi: progress and hypotheses.
Under defined laboratory conditions, Naegleria gruberi undergo an amoeba-to-flagellate differentiation. During this differentiation, N. gruberi changes its shape from an amorphous amoeba to a regular shaped flagellate and forms de novo a flagellar apparatus, which is composed of two basal bodies, two flagella, a flagellar rootlet, and cytoplasmic microtubules. The entire process is accomplished within 2h after initiation of differentiation and more than 95% of cells in the population undergo this differentiation. This rapid and synchronous differentiation of N. gruberi provides us with a unique system in which we can study the process of de novo basal body assembly. In this review, I summarize recent findings associated with de novo basal body assembly and propose a hypothesis to explain how N. gruberi assemble two basal bodies per cell, which is what happens in the majority of cells.
Lee
Joohun
J
Department of Biology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, 262 Seongsanno, Seodaemun-Gu, Seoul 120-749, Republic of Korea. leehjnt@yonsei.ac.kr
D000656:Amoeba / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002502:Centrioles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005407:Flagella / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism; D009253:Naegleria / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism