FIGURE 1: Model of the Tripartite Attachment Complex of a T. brucei cell.
Left: Montage of an epifluorescence image of a trypanosome cell. Right: The basal body (BB) is connected to the kDNA (cyan) via the Tripartite Attachment Complex (TAC). The TAC consists of the exclusion zone filaments (EZF), the differentiated membranes (DM) and the unilateral filaments (ULF). Four proteins (p197, TAC40, p166, TAC102) and one monoclonal antibody (Mab22) are shown as part of the TAC. The precise localization of p197 (yellow) and Mab22 (red) in the EZF is currently unknown. TAC40 (blue) is part of the outer mitochondrial membrane and p166 (green) localizes close to the inner mitochondrial membrane. TAC102 (brown) localizes to the ULF. Attached to the BB is the pro-basal body (pBB). Green: cytosolic part of the cell; cyan: DNA; magenta: mitochondrion.