Centrosome size is controlled by centriolar SAS-4

The centrosome consists of a pair of centrioles and a surrounding matrix of pericentriolar material that anchors microtubule nucleation sites and consequently determines the number and organization of microtubules in interphase and mitotic cells. Recent studies utilizing a functional genomics approach in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and sophisticated light and electron microscopy techniques provide new insight into how centrioles act as centrosomal organizers and use a centriolar structural element to dictate centrosome size by defining their capacity to recruit pericentriolar material.