{"doi":"10.1242/jcs.128694","title":"ε-tubulin is essential in <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> for the assembly and stability of basal bodies","abstract":"<jats:p>Basal bodies and centrioles are conserved microtubule-based organelles whose improper assembly leads to a number of diseases, including ciliopathies and cancer. Tubulin family members are conserved components of these structures that are integral to their proper formation and function. We have identified the ε-tubulin gene in Tetrahymena thermophila and localized the protein through fluorescence of a tagged allele to basal bodies. Immuno-electron microscopy has shown that ε-tubulin localizes primarily to the core microtubule scaffold. A complete genomic knockout of ε-tubulin has revealed that it is an essential gene required for the assembly and maintenance of the triplet microtubule blades of basal bodies. We have conducted site-directed mutagenesis of the ε-tubulin gene and shown that residues within the nucleotide-binding domain, longitudinal interacting domains, and C-terminal tail are required for proper function. A single amino acid change of Thr150, a conserved residue in the nucleotide-binding domain, to Val is a conditional mutation that results in defects in the spatial and temporal assembly of basal bodies as well as their stability. We have genetically separated functions for the domains of ε-tubulin and identified a novel role for the nucleotide-binding domain in the regulation of basal body assembly and stability.</jats:p>","journal":"Journal of Cell Science","year":2013,"id":17684,"datarank":1.7194709300897355,"base_score":3.713572066704308,"endowment":3.713572066704308,"self_citation_contribution":0.5570358100056463,"citation_network_contribution":1.1624351200840892,"self_endowment_contribution":0.5570358100056463,"citer_contribution":1.1624351200840892,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":40,"citer_count":36,"citers_with_citation_signal":33,"citers_with_endowment":33,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":125673,"name":"Christina Clarissa","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":125674,"name":"Thomas H. Giddings","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":125675,"name":"Mark Winey","orcid":"0000-0002-9028-9033","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":125672,"name":"Ian Ross","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"base_score":3.713572066704308,"endowment":3.713572066704308,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"23704354","pmcid":"PMC3730247","openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W2120973691","authors":[],"funders":[{"funder_name":"NCRR NIH HHS","grant_id":"P41 RR001081","title":null},{"funder_name":"NCRR NIH HHS","grant_id":"2P41RR001081","title":null},{"funder_name":"NIGMS NIH HHS","grant_id":"P41 GM103311","title":null},{"funder_name":"NIGMS NIH HHS","grant_id":"T32 GM08759","title":null},{"funder_name":"NIGMS NIH HHS","grant_id":"T32 GM142607","title":null},{"funder_name":"NIGMS NIH HHS","grant_id":"T32 GM008759","title":null},{"funder_name":"NIGMS NIH HHS","grant_id":"9P41GM103311","title":null},{"funder_name":"NIGMS NIH HHS","grant_id":"R01 GM074746","title":null}],"total_grants":8,"fwci":1.7946,"citation_percentile":0.85047029,"influential_citations":5,"citation_trend":[{"year":2014,"count":5},{"year":2015,"count":4},{"year":2016,"count":3},{"year":2017,"count":6},{"year":2018,"count":2},{"year":2019,"count":4},{"year":2020,"count":3},{"year":2021,"count":1},{"year":2023,"count":2},{"year":2024,"count":4},{"year":2025,"count":5},{"year":2026,"count":1}],"oa_status":"green","license":null,"oa_locations":[{"url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/3730247","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://jcs.biologists.org/content/joces/126/15/3441.full.pdf","host_type":"BRONZE"},{"url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/3730247","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"http://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article-pdf/126/15/3441/1955485/jcs-126-15-3441.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"http://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article-pdf/doi/10.1242/jcs.128694/2045213/jcs128694.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.128694","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23704354","host_type":"repository"}],"fields_of_study":["Protist diversity and phylogeny","Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena","Microtubule and mitosis dynamics","Medicine","Biology","Basal Bodies","Cell Cycle","Centrioles","Ciliophora Infections","Microtubules","Tetrahymena thermophila","Tubulin"],"mesh_terms":["Cell Cycle","Centrioles","Microtubules","Tubulin","Ciliophora Infections","Tetrahymena thermophila","Basal Bodies"],"keywords":["Biology","Tetrahymena","Basal body","Protozoa","Tubulin","Basal (medicine)","Zoology","Cell biology","Microtubule","Botany","Genetics","Bacteria","Flagellum","Endocrinology","Tetrahymena thermophila","Microtubule Organizing Center","Epsilon Tubulin"],"sdg_mappings":[],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-06-02T19:49:11.386616Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}