Centrosome

Two centrioles at right angles, each a cylinder of nine triplet microtubules around a cartwheel.

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Centriole construction

a cylindrical structure of nine triplet microtubules organised around a central cartwheel

animal, general · structural and in vitro assembly study · Gupta H 2015, Biochemistry · source

What imposes the nine-fold symmetry

SAS-6 is the component identified as necessary for formation of the cartwheel

human protein, in vitro · microtubule assembly assay · Gupta H 2015, Biochemistry · source

Second role of the same cylinder

centrioles are essential components of the animal centrosome and play crucial roles in the formation of cilia and flagella

animal, general · review within a structural paper · Gupta H 2015, Biochemistry · source

Not shown yet

Centriole length and diameter

the copy is shown at roughly 0.5 um long, which is the conventional figure and is not yet tied to a measurement read in an abstract on this page.

Pericentriolar material composition

the copy draws the centriole pair only. The material around it is not shown, because no sourced geometry for it has been read.

Behind the copy

The centrosome is the animal cell's main microtubule organising centre, and at its core sit two centrioles set at right angles to each other. A centriole is a cylinder built from nine triplet microtubules arranged around a central cartwheel, and the cartwheel is what imposes the nine-fold symmetry: SAS-6 is the component necessary to form it. The same cylinder, redeployed, becomes the basal body of a cilium or a flagellum.

source 1

Real pictures

Gallery and papers in the library

A centriole and its procentriole in human RPE1 cells, both marked in red, seen by expansion microscopy. The physical enlargement of the sample is what makes the pair separable by light; the nine-fold symmetry the copy draws is below this resolution and is not visible here. EPFL-MEDIACOM, CC BY 4.0 · source · expansion microscopy

Panel B, "Control" (DMSO) column: CEP164 (mother centriole, magenta), acetylated alpha-tubulin (centriole, yellow) and Centrin-2 (centrioles, cyan) in human RPE1 cells, showing a normal centriole pair. Part of a composite figure on CDK1 and centriole length regulation. Liu, Wang, Sinha et al 2026, Genes & Development, CC BY 4.0 · source · immunofluorescence, composite figure

Transmission electron microscope image of a thin section cut through the developing brain tissue (telencephalic hemisphere) of an 11.5 day mouse embryo. This high magnification image of "Embryonic brain 80445" show a spindle centriole and some spindle microtubules visible in the cytoplasm of a mitotic cell at the luminal surface of the telencephalon. Louisa Howard, Miguel Marin-Padilla, Public domain · source · micrograph

FBXW7 depletion induces supernumerary centrioles with multiple mother-daughter pairs. A, representative confocal microscopic images of G1/S synchronized HeLa Kyoto cells treated with control or FBXW7 siRNA (48 h) stained for CEP164 and SAS6. Scale bar = 5 um. While the vast majority (>~95%) of control cells carry two centrioles, ~50% FBXW7-depleted cells possess supernumerary (3 and more) centrioles with concomitant reduction of cells with two centrioles as shown. B, plot of percentage of cells with different numbers of SAS6 foci as indicated in control versus FBXW7 siRNA-treated G1/S synchronized HeLa Kyoto cells. C, plot of percentage of cells with different numbers of CEP164 foci as indicated in control versus FBXW7 siRNA-treated G1/S synchronized HeLa Kyoto cells. Anand, Bloomberg, Bhattacharjee et al 2026, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

NuSAP possesses a centrosomal localization. (A) HeLa cells were synchronized in the G2 phase and stained for IF with antibodies against NuSAP (green) and (upper panel) acetylated alpha-tubulin (red) with a 1-h cold treatment before fixation to remove unstable microtubules or (lower panel) gamma-tubulin (red). Scale bar, 10 um. (B) HeLa cells with GFP-NuSAP and GFP-NuSAP MTBD overexpression were synchronized in the G2 phase and stained for IF with antibodies against acetylated alpha-tubulin (red) and pericentrin (magenta) with a 1-h cold treatment before fixation. Zhang, Jiang, Yang et al 2026, Advanced Science, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

Localization of apical membrane protein Gp135 around the centrosome and its transport during epithelial polarization. (A) Single MDCK cells were cultured in Matrigel for 12 hr. Immunostaining was performed with the following markers: apical membrane marker glycoprotein 135 (Gp135, green), centrosome marker gamma-tubulin (magenta), acetyl-tubulin (white), and DAPI for nuclei (blue). Single confocal sections through the middle of a cyst are shown. The order of polarization is arranged from single cell (1-cell), metaphase (Meta), telophase (Telo), cytokinetic pre-abscission (Pre-Abs), post-cytokinesis (Post-CK), to lumen open (LO). Arrows indicate Gp135 clusters around centrosomes, while arrowheads point to centrosome positions. Scale bar: 5 um. Wang, Lin, Tang et al 2026, eLife, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

McIdas is essential for centriole amplification. (A) U2OS cells were treated with hydroxyurea (HU) and 24 h later were transfected with vectors expressing GFP-tagged McIdas or GFP alone as a control. Cells were fixed with methanol 48 h after transfections and centriole numbers were counted using antibodies against Cep135 and CP110, to mark the proximal and distal parts of the centrioles, respectively. (B) Quantification of centriole numbers per cell in GFP- and GFP-McIdas-overexpressing cells. (C) U2OS cells were transfected with McIdas siRNA_1 or control siRNA oligos. 24 h later, after a second transfection with the indicated siRNAs, cells were treated with HU for an additional 48 h. Cells were fixed, and centriole numbers were determined by staining with antibodies against Cep135 and CP110. (D) Quantification of centriole numbers per cell in control and McIdas-depleted cells. (E) U2OS cells were transfected twice with McIdas siRNA_1 or control siRNA oligos. 24 h after the second siRNA transfection, cells were transfected with vectors expressing either GFP-tagged McIdas or GFP alone as a control and then treated with HU for an additional 48 h. (F) Quantification of centriole numbers per cell. (G) U2OS cells expressing myc-PLK4 under a tetracycline-dependent promoter were transfected with McIdas siRNA_1 or control siRNA oligos. A second transfection followed 24 h later, and then cells were treated with tetracycline to induce myc-PLK4 overexpression. Cells were fixed and immunostained for SAS6. (H) Quantification of SAS6 foci in control and McIdas-depleted cells overexpressing PLK4. Nuclear boundaries are outlined and white boxes indicate regions shown as higher-magnification images. DNA was stained with Hoechst. Scale bars, 5 μm. Arbi, Skamnelou, Koufoudaki et al 2026, EMBO Reports, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

Abnormal clustering of supernumerary centrioles in cKO spermatids. ( A , B ) IF staining of chromosome spreads from cKO testes using Centrin 20H5 and Centrin 3 antibodies. ( A ) In control round spermatids, two centrioles are typically present (white arrowheads). In contrast, cKO round spermatids exhibit abnormal aggregates of multiple centrioles (yellow arrowheads). Enlarged views of boxed region Chen, Gong, Mak et al 2026, EMBO Reports, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

14-3-3e mutants alter centrosome numbers in different cell lines. (A,B) HCT116 cells were transfected with the mOrange vector control (VC), and mOrange-tagged wild-type (WT) and mutant (D127A, E134A, D127AE134A) 14-3-3e constructs. The cells were arrested in mitosis with nocodazole, stained with antibodies to pericentrin (green) and counterstained with DAPI (blue). The number of mitotic cells showing indicated centrosome numbers was quantified. Jaiswal, Karn, Das et al 2025, Journal of Cell Science, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

OTUD6B localises to centrosomes and interacts with KIFC1. (A, B) OTUD6B co-localises with pericentrin in interphase cells and prometaphase cells (A) and with tubulin (A) and KIFC1 at prometaphase (B). U2OS cells transfected with GFP or GFP-OTUD6B for 48 h before staining, representative maximum-intensity projections imaged with Zeiss LSM800 confocal. Marotta, Sabat-Pospiech, Fielding et al 2025, EMBO Reports, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

TEDC1 and TEDC2 localize to centrioles. (A) Immunofluorescence staining of TEDC1 rescue cell lines expressing TEDC1-Halotag-3xFlag in G1, S/G2, and M. Images are maximum projections of confocal stacks. Blue: DAPI; Cyan: Centrin (CETN); Magenta: TEDC1-Halotag-3xFlag (localized with anti-Flag antibody); Yellow: SASS6. Scale bar: 5 um. (B) Immunofluorescence staining of TEDC2 rescue cell lines expressing TEDC2-V5-APEX2 in G1, S/G2, and M. Blue: DAPI; Cyan: Centrin (CETN, localized with anti-GFP antibody recognizing GFP-centrin); Magenta: TEDC2-V5-APEX2 (localized with anti-V5 antibody); Yellow: SASS6. Scale bar: 5 µm. Pudlowski, Xu, Milenkovic et al 2025, eLife, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

Drosophila procentriole biology can readily be investigated using ExM. (A) ExM of S2 cells immunostained for acetylated tubulin (AcTub; red) and the centriole distal tip protein Cep97 (gray). M, mother centriole; P, procentriole. Burns, Amoiroglou, Fagerstrom et al 2026, Journal of Cell Science, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper

TEM image of undocked supernumerary centrioles in a cKO spermatid. TEM image of a P26 testis section showing a step 9 cKO spermatid containing five centrioles (red arrowheads). An enlarged view of the boxed region is shown on the right. Scale bars, 2 µm and 100 nm (enlarged images). (mouse (Stra8-iCre;Cep164 fl/fl spermatid, P26 testis); Figure EV2, right (enlarged view, 100 nm scale bar; cols 765-1347 of figure).) Chen, Gong, Mak et al 2026, EMBO Reports, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper, transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

Representative U-ExM images of centrioles in G2 phase hTERT-RPE1 cells stained for alpha-tubulin and treated as indicated. (human (hTERT-RPE1); Fig. 8, panels A, C, E, G (U-ExM micrographs, left column of figure; cols 14-647 of 800x838 figure).) Dwivedi, Ikram, Esguerra et al 2026, Nature Communications, CC BY 4.0 · source · figure from an open-access paper, U-ExM (ultrastructure expansion microscopy)

Building the copy.