Fibroblasts initiate ciliogenesis inside the cell, but polarized epithelial cells form a primary cilium at the apical cell surface through a mechanism that is largely uncharacterized. Bernabé-Rubio et al. reveal that, in polarized MDCK cells, a remnant of the cytokinetic midbody moves to the center of the apical surface, where it encounters the centrosome and enables cilium formation. This biosights episode presents the paper by Bernabé-Rubio et al. from the August 1, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Miguel Alonso (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.
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