Gonzalo Alvarez Viar

Publications

  • 07/2022 - Science

    In situ architecture of the ciliary base reveals the stepwise assembly of intraflagellar transport trains

    The cilium is an antenna-like organelle that performs numerous cellular functions, including motility, sensing, and signaling. The base of the cilium contains a selective barrier that regulates the entry of large intraflagellar transport (IFT) trains, which carry cargo proteins required for ciliary assembly and maintenance. However, the native architecture of the ciliary base and the […]

  • 04/2022 - Nano Lett

    Fabrication of High Aspect Ratio Gold Nanowires within the Microtubule Lumen

    Gold nanowires have great potential use as interconnects in electronic, photonic, and optoelectronic devices. To date, there are various fabrication strategies for gold nanowires, each one associated with particular drawbacks as they utilize high temperatures, toxic chemicals, or expensive compounds to produce nanowires of suboptimal quality. Inspired by nanowire fabrication strategies that used higher-order biopolymer […]

  • 01/2021 - Science

    Tubulin glycylation controls axonemal dynein activity, flagellar beat, and male fertility beat, and male fertility

    Posttranslational modifications of the microtubule cytoskeleton have emerged as key regulators of cellular functions, and their perturbations have been linked to a growing number of human pathologies. Tubulin glycylation modifies microtubules specifically in cilia and flagella, but its functional and mechanistic roles remain unclear. In this study, we generated a mouse model entirely lacking tubulin […]

  • 09/2020 - Nature Structural Molecular Biology

    The molecular structure of mammalian primary cilia revealed by cryo-electron tomography

    Primary cilia are microtubule-based organelles that are important for signaling and sensing in eukaryotic cells. Unlike the thoroughly studied motile cilia, the three-dimensional architecture and molecular composition of primary cilia are largely unexplored. Yet, studying these aspects is necessary to understand how primary cilia function in health and disease. We developed an enabling method for […]

  • 07/2019 - Current Opinion in Structural Biology

    Towards a mechanistic understanding of cellular processes by cryoEM

    A series of recent hardware and software developments have transformed cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) from a niche tool into a method that has become indispensable in structural and functional biology. Samples that are rapidly frozen are encased in a near-native state inside a layer of amorphous ice, and then imaged in an electron microscope cooled to […]