Basal body
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{{Mergefrom|Kinetosome|date=January 2008}}
A '''basal body''' (sometimes '''basal granule''' or '''kinetosome''') is an [[organelle]] formed from a [[centriole]], a short [[cylindrical]] array of [[microtubules]]. It is found at the base of a [[eukaryotic]] [[undulipodium]] ([[cilium]] or [[flagellum]]) and serves as a nucleation site for the growth of the [[axoneme]] microtubules. Centrioles, from which basal bodies are derived, act as anchoring sites for proteins that in turn anchor microtubules within centrosomes, one type of [[microtubule organizing center]] (MTOC). These microtubules provide structure and facilitate movement of vesicles and organelles within many eukaryotic cells. Basal bodies, however, are specifically the bases for cilia and flagella that extend out of the cell.
Basal bodies are derived from centrioles through a largely mysterious process. They are structurally the same, each containing a microtubules triplet 9+1 helocoidal configuration forming a hollow cylinder.
Regulation of basal body production and spatial orientation is a function of the nucleotide-binding domain of γ-tubulin (Shang et al, 2005).
==References==
Boston University Medical Histoloy: Ultrastructure of the Cell <http://www.bu.edu/histology/p/21804loa.htm>
Y. Shang, C.-C. Tsao, and M. A. Gorovsky. 2005. Mutational analyses reveal a novel function of the nucleotide-binding domain of gamma-tubulin in the regulation of basal body biogenesis. ''J. Cell Biol.'' '''171'''(6):1035-44. PMID 16344310
==External links==
* {{BUHistology|21804loa}} - "Ultrastructure of the Cell: ciliated epithelium, cilia and basal bodies"
{{Cell-biology-stub}}
[[Category:Organelles]]
[[es:Cuerpo basal]]