A basal body is an organelle formed from a centriole, a short cylindrical array of microtubules. It is found at the base of a eukaryotic cell cilium or flagellum and serves as a nucleation site for the growth of the axoneme microtubules. Basal Bodies anchor cilia.

Basal Bodies are structurally identical to centrioles.

Regulation of basal body production and spatial orientation is a function of the nucleotide-binding domain of γ-tubulin (Shang et al, 2005).

References

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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 Organelles