Primary cilia (non-motile cilia) differ from motile cilia in that they typically:
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Correct answer: Lack the central pair of microtubules
Primary cilia generally have a '9+0' axoneme, meaning they lack the central singlet microtubules and the dynein motors required for movement. They function primarily as sensory organelles (antennae) to detect chemical or mechanical signals.
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More Cilia questions
- In which of the following locations would you expect to find a high concentration of motile cilia?
- Kartagener syndrome, a subset of primary ciliary dyskinesia, is characterized by a genetic defect in which structure?
- What is the approximate length of a typical motile cilium on an epithelial cell?
- Which protein prevents the microtubule doublets from sliding past each other indefinitely, converting sliding into a bending motion?
- In a light microscope (H&E stain), the layer of basal bodies at the base of the cilia often appears as a thin, dark line called the:
- Primary ciliary dyskinesia often leads to female subfertility because cilia are essential in which structure?