Centriole number is normally under tight control and is directly linked to ciliogenesis. In cells that use centrosomes as mitotic spindle poles, one pre-existing mother centriole is allowed to duplicate only one daughter centriole per cell cycle. In multiciliated cells, however, many centrioles are generated to serve as basal bodies of the cilia. Although deuterosomes were observed more than 40 years ago using electron microscopy and are believed to produce most of the basal bodies in a mother centriole-independent manner, the underlying molecular mechanisms have remained unknown until recently. From these findings arise more questions and a call for clarifications that will require multidisciplinary efforts.
Keywords: Deuterosome; centriole assembly; ciliogenesis; deuterosome-dependent.