Microfilaments

Organelle:

Microfilaments can cause movement!

 

Propose

System of transport for materials within a neuron and may be used for structural support.

Function

There are two types of protein filaments that make up the cytoskeleton: microtubules and microfilaments. Microfilaments are7-9 nm diameter filaments and are made out of actin subunits. These microfilaments are approximately a third of the diameter of a microtubule, and are often used by cells to change their shape as well as hold structures.

The cytoskeleton is generally invisible, transparent, to the eye of an observer peering through a light microscope, and the cytoskeleton is also usually left out of a drawing of the cell, but it is an important, complex, and dynamic component of the cell. The cytoskeleton keeps the cell's shape, anchors organelles in place, and moves parts of the cell as needed.

 

Location

Found through-out the cell.

Number

Hundreds

 

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