Intraflagellar Transport Protein 52 (IFT52)

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) is a motility in which particles composed of at least 17 polypeptides move underneath the flagellar membrane. Mutations affecting IFT particle polypeptides or motors result in the inability to assemble flagella. IFT particles and the motors moving them are located principally around the basal bodies as well as in the flagella. IFT52 is in the flagella, the majority is found in two horseshoe-shaped rings around the basal bodies. Immunoelectron microscopy indicates that IFT52 is associated with the periphery of the transitional fibers, which extend from the distal portion of the basal body to the cell membrane and demarcate the entrance to the flagellar compartment. the transitional fibers form a docking complex for the IFT particles destined for the flagellum. Finally, the flagellaless mutant bld1 completely lacks IFT52 due to a deletion in the gene encoding IFT52.