Deconstructing the centriole: structure and number control

Centrioles are very small microtubule-based organelles essential for centrosome, cilia and flagella assembly, which are involved in a variety of cellular and developmental processes. Although the centriole was first described almost a century ago, the knowledge on its assembly mechanism remains poor. In the past decade, forefront functional studies have provided important data on the different players involved in centriole biogenesis. Centriole research has now started to profit from highly sensitive structural, imaging, and biochemical techniques that are unveiling how those players contribute to assemble such a small and complex structure. We will review those studies and discuss how this field will increasingly benefit from the newborn and exciting era of super resolution analyses.