6.

6- “The cytoskeleton is a network of fibers that organizes structures and activities in the
cell”

The cytoskeleton is a network of fibers extending throughout the cytoplasm, it plays a major role in
organizing the structures and activities of the cell. It is composed of three types of molecular structures:
microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments.

Roles of the Cytoskeleton: Support and Motility

Support:
The cytoskeleton gives mechanical support to the cell and maintains its shape, this is important for
animal cell, which lack cell walls. The cytoskeleton is stabilized by a balance between opposing forces
exerted by its elements. (tent)

Motility:
 Provides a fixed location for many organelles and even cytosolic enzyme molecules.
 Can be dismantled in one part of cell and reassembled in a new location (changing the shape of the
cell)
 Cell Motility- includes both changes to cell location and movements of cell parts, requires the
interaction of the cytoskeleton with motor proteins.
 Cytoskeletal elements and motor proteins work with the plasma membrane molecules to allow
whole cells to move along fibers outside the cell.
 Vesicles and other organelles often use motor protein to move to their destinations along a track
provided by the cytoskeleton. This is how neurotransmitter molecules migrate to the tips of axons.

 The cytoskeleton also manipulates the plasma membrane, bending it inward to form food vacuoles
or other phagocytic vesicles.

Components of the Cytoskeleton

Microtubules
 The microtubule is a hollow rod constructed from globular proteins called tubulins.
*Tubulin protein= dimer which is a molecule made up of two subunits.
*Tubulin dimer- α-tubulin and β- tubulin
 Microtubules grow in length by adding tubulin dimers which can be disassembled, and be used to
build other microtubules
 The orientation of tubulin dimers causes the two ends of microtubules to be slightly different
 One end accumulates or releases tubulin dimers at a faster rate, causing growth and shrinking
significantly during cellular activities. This is called “plus end” because it can add tubulin proteins
and it is where both on and off rates are much higher.
 Microtubules guide vesicles from the ER to the Golgi apparatus and from the Golgi to the plasma
membrane. They are also involved in the separation of chromosomes during cell division.

Centrosomes and Centrioles

 In animal cells, microtubules grow out from a centrosome (often located near nucleus.
*Function: compression-resisting girders of the cytoskeleton
Inside the centrosome is a pair of centrioles, each composed of nine sets of triplet microtubules
arranged in a ring