A brief introduction to intraflagellar transport system

This animation briefly describes the structure of cilia and the intraflagellar transport (IFT) system used by cells to shuttle structural components and signaling receptors between the ciliary base and tip. Cilia are organelles that play fundamental roles in cell motility and signaling. Ciliary proteins are synthesized in the cytoplasm and then transported into cilia by the IFT system. IFT protein complexes assemble into highly repetitive polymers, called IFT trains. Some progress has been made in understanding the structure of IFT trains and how they function as macromolecular machines. However, there are still lots of questions that remain unanswered.
This animation serves as an introduction to this research topic and paves the way for further scientific discussion.