Centrosomes back in the limelight
Michel Bornens and Pierre Gönczy
05 September 2014

DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0452

Centrosomes and centrioles were ‘born’ towards the end of the nineteenth century when they were first spotted and studied by astute cell and developmental biologists

the centrosome is back in the thinking of many cell and developmental biologists after a long eclipse during which even the term centrosome was neglected to the benefit of the acronym MTOC: Microtubule Organizing Centre.

One may wonder why the centrosome has ever evolved in metazoans if other multicellular organisms such as higher plants live perfectly well without them. And one may further wonder why some differentiated animal cells that no longer divide, like neurons or leucocytes, retain a centrosome while others such as myotubes eliminate centrosomes? Likewise, why do some resting cells grow a primary cilium whereas others never do, despite having the appendages on the mother centriole that could enable them to do so? Can we propose a unified functional framework in which all these differences would make sense? Cell polarity and its transmission to daughter cells through division in somatic lineages, or from the male gamete to the zygote through fertilization in most animal species, come across as a broad unifying theme that encompasses the numerous functions in which the centrosome can be involved.

one cannot hope to get at a comprehensive understanding of centrosome function in diverse systems without a comparative analysis of the cellular economy resulting from the survival strategy of each organism. This is what makes the study of centrosomes both important and attractive. We trust that this Theme Issue will both provide a snapshot of the progress to date and fuel advances for the years to come. Hopefully, the next collective coverage will have answers for many of the questions that are open […] and undoubtedly come up with new ones!