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. 2014 Nov 13;9(11):e112879. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112879

Figure 4. Orientations of basal beet and two central microtubule were disrupted in the middle ear epithelium of Spag6-deficient mice.

Figure 4

(A, B) The basal feet of middle ear ciliated epithelium in 25-day old wild-type mice and Spag6−/− mice. (C, D) The orientations of the two central microtubules of the cilia in 25-day old wild-type mice and Spag6−/− mice. (A) In the wild-type, the basal feet point in the same orientation (arrow and dotted circle in A); (B) while in the mutant mice, the orientation of basal feet was disrupted and appeared to be random (arrows and dotted circles in B). (C) In wild-type mice, the orientation of the two central microtubules of the cilia was consistent, as shown by the same orientation of lines connecting the two microtubules (red lines in C). (D) However, in Spag6-deficient mice, the orientation of the two central microtubules was random; the lines connecting central microtubules pointed to different directions (red lines in D). Moreover, abnormal ciliary membranes (black arrows in D) also could be seen. bb, basal body; bf: basal foot; WT, wild-type; M, mutant; Bars in A and B, 1 µm; Bars in C and D, 500 nm.