Evidence for intraflagellar transport in butterfly spermatocyte cilia

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Abstract
In the model organism insect Drosophila melanogaster short cilia assemble on spermatocytes that elaborate into 1.8 mm long flagella during spermatid differentiation. A unique feature of these cilia/flagella is their lack of dependence on intraflagellar transport (IFT) for their assembly. Here we show that in the common butterfly Pieris brassicae the spermatocyte cilia are exceptionally long: about 40 µm compared to less than 1 µm in Drosophila. By transmission electron microscopy we show that P. brassicae spermatocytes display several features not found in melanogaster, including compelling evidence of IFT structures and features of motile cilia. Summary statement: This work shows ultrastructural definition of the exceptionally long cilia that persist on butterfly ( P. brassicae ) spermatocytes, including evidence of intraflagellar transport, during meiotic division.
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