Fig. 7: δ-Tub and ε-Tub are required for the B-tubule assembly of MT doublet.

A U-ExM detection of the B tubule formation of MT doublet in the basal body and axoneme of gametocytes at 2 mpa. Parasites were co-stained with antibodies against PolyE and α/β-Tubulin. PolyE marks the mature B-tubule of MT doublet. White asterisk refers to the nuclear spindle. Scale bars = 5 μm. A representative from three independent experiments. The expansion factor is 4 ± 0.3. B Quantification of male gametocytes with PolyE labeled axonemal MTs in (A). Mean ± SD from three independent experiments, two-tailed t-test. C Diameter of axoneme in (A). n is the number of axonemes measured from three independent experiments. Mean ± SD, two-tailed t-test. D iU-ExM detection of the B tubule formation of MT doublet in the axoneme of gametocytes at 8 mpa. Parasites were co-stained with antibodies against PolyE and α/β-Tubulin. Scale bars = 5 μm. Insets show enlargements of the boxed areas with a cross-section view of the axoneme. Scale bars = 1 μm. A representative from three independent experiments. E TEM of axonemal MT architecture in the gametocytes at 8 mpa. Scale bars = 1 μm. Insets show enlargements of the boxed areas with a cross-section view of the axoneme. Scale bars = 100 nm. A representative from three independent experiments. F Quantification of male gametocytes with normal “9 + 2” MT structure axoneme. Mean ± SD from three independent experiments, two-tailed t-test. G Percentage of three types of MT structure in (E). Intact MT doublet (A + B tubule), incomplete MT doublet (A tubule + incomplete B tubule), and MT singlet (A-tubule or Central pair (CP) MT singlet). Mean ± SD from three independent experiments. H Cartoon showing the δ-Tub or ε-Tub deficiency in the B-tubule formation of MT doublet in the basal body. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.