A deep-etching study of the guinea pig tracheal cilium with special reference to the ciliary transitional region

Abstract

The fine structure of the cilium was examined by freeze-fracture-etch studies. In the interior of the transitional region, three types of plate structures were clearly observed. While the terminal plate contained fine fibrillar linkers suspending the central core plates from its peripheral doublet microtubules, two other types of plates had no suspending linkers. At the upper level of transitional region, one of the central microtubules elongated deeper than the other in the space surrounded by ring structure. Axosome-like structure was not observed in our replicas. Central vesicle of the basal body was also suspended by fine fibrillar linkers from peripheral triplets. Though membrane particles of ciliary necklace were recognized on protoplasmic and external fracture faces, and the external surface, particle arrays were not observed on protoplasmic surface. Instead, Y-shaped, cross bridges, one end of which attached to the doublet microtubules, merged in the circular ridge structure at opposite ends. This circular ridge structure at the necklace region may play a role as an anchoring site of both membrane particles of the necklace and cross bridges from peripheral doublet microtubules.