Cytoskeleton Flashcards: Fibers, Motors & Functions
Practice cytoskeletal fibers, motor tracks, cell division, and ciliary patterns with 50 English flashcards and short checks for ambiguous clues.
O tomto balíčku
Practice cytoskeleton structure and function with 50 English flashcards for secondary and introductory-college biology. The focus is on telling actin filaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments apart, then applying those distinctions to motors, cell structures, and short reasoning prompts. Basic cell knowledge is helpful; the cell organelle flashcards cover that prerequisite.
The cards map filament names to building proteins and structural properties, selected protein or shape clues back to filament families, motor names to tracks and specified travel directions, and named cell structures to their cytoskeletal components. Short error checks distinguish a fiber from its building protein or motor. Other prompts ask what information is missing when support, movement, cell division, vesicle transport, or ATP use does not identify a unique answer.
Start with the three filament families, their assembly, and polarity. Motor tracks and ATP use lead into the actin cortex, microvilli, keratins, nuclear lamins, the spindle, and the animal-cell contractile ring. Basic ciliary architecture and selected motor-direction exceptions then support the final mixed distinctions. Selected reverse prompts and related variants are separated; the review scheduler handles longer-term spacing. Every card carries the cytoskeleton tag.
This is text-based recall practice. It does not test diagram or micrograph identification. Exhaustive reverse cards, arbitrary name-to-example lists, exact filament diameters, detailed motor families, clinical diagnosis, drug treatment, bacterial cytoskeletons, and molecular regulation pathways are excluded to keep the deck focused. Typical ciliary patterns are taught with exceptions, not as universal motility rules. No complete biology course or examination alignment is claimed.
The questions, explanations, sequence, and metadata were written independently with AI assistance. Scientific facts were checked against research publications on cytoskeletal interactions and intermediate filaments, microtubule dynamics, motor proteins, microvilli, animal-cell cytokinesis, actin assembly, cell protrusion, motile cilia, and primary cilia. Source wording, exercises, and diagrams were not copied; those publications retain their own licenses, and scientific facts are not claimed as proprietary. Original material and the AI-generated decorative cover are dedicated under CC0 1.0 to the extent applicable rights exist. The cover is an abstract illustration, not a molecular diagram. This is independent study material without institutional endorsement.
Kartičky v tomto balíčku
Kartička 1
Otázka
What are the three major cytoskeletal filament families in animal cells?
Odpoveď
Actin filaments (microfilaments), microtubules, and intermediate filaments.
Kartička 2
Otázka
Which protein builds microfilaments?
Odpoveď
Actin.
Kartička 3
Otázka
Which two tubulin subunits pair to build microtubules?
Odpoveď
Alpha-tubulin and beta-tubulin. Each building unit is an alpha–beta tubulin dimer.
Kartička 4
Otázka
Do all intermediate filaments use the same building protein?
Odpoveď
No. Different cells use different intermediate-filament proteins, such as keratins, vimentin, and nuclear lamins.
Kartička 5
Otázka
What does filament polarity mean in the cytoskeleton?
Odpoveď
The two ends have different molecular structures. Plus and minus label distinct ends, not electrical charges.
Kartička 6
Otázka
What is the basic shape of an actin filament?
Odpoveď
Two intertwined strands of actin subunits. It is a thin filament, not a hollow tube.
Kartička 7
Otázka
Which major cytoskeletal filament forms a hollow tube?
Odpoveď
A microtubule.
Kartička 8
Otázka
Which major cytoskeletal filament has a rope-like assembly of fibrous proteins?
Odpoveď
An intermediate filament.
Kartička 9
Otázka
Which cytoskeletal filament is the track for myosin motors?
Odpoveď
An actin filament.
Kartička 10
Otázka
Which major cytoskeletal filament family lacks distinct plus and minus ends?
Odpoveď
Intermediate filaments. Actin filaments and microtubules are polar.
Kartička 11
Otázka
What directly powers the stepping of myosin, kinesin, and dynein motors?
Odpoveď
ATP hydrolysis.
Kartička 12
Otázka
Which two motor-protein families move along microtubules?
Odpoveď
Kinesins and dyneins.
Kartička 13
Otázka
Which filament network is especially prominent in the cortex just beneath an animal cell’s plasma membrane?
Odpoveď
Actin filaments. The cortex helps control cell shape and surface mechanics.
Kartička 14
Otázka
Keratin networks belong to which cytoskeletal filament family?
Odpoveď
Intermediate filaments.
Kartička 15
Otázka
What is microtubule dynamic instability?
Odpoveď
Switching between growth and shrinkage. A microtubule can change length as tubulin subunits are added or lost.
Kartička 16
Otázka
A cargo moves by kinesin along a microtubule. Which component is the motor?
Odpoveď
Kinesin. The microtubule is the track.
Kartička 17
Otázka
Which filaments form the supporting bundles inside microvilli?
Odpoveď
Actin filaments.
Kartička 18
Otázka
Which proteins form the nuclear lamina beneath the inner nuclear membrane?
Odpoveď
Lamins, members of the intermediate-filament protein family.
Kartička 19
Otázka
Which cytoskeletal filaments form the mitotic spindle?
Odpoveď
Microtubules. Spindle microtubules help organize and separate chromosomes.
Kartička 20
Otázka
Cytoplasmic dynein carries cargo toward which end of a microtubule?
Odpoveď
The minus end.
Kartička 21
Otázka
Which filament and motor form the main contractile machinery of the animal-cell cleavage ring?
Odpoveď
Actin filaments and myosin II.
Kartička 22
Otázka
How can actin assembly help a crawling cell extend its leading edge?
Odpoveď
Growing actin filaments can push the plasma membrane outward.
Kartička 23
Otázka
Which filaments form the axoneme, the internal framework of eukaryotic cilia and flagella?
Odpoveď
Microtubules.
Kartička 24
Otázka
Conventional kinesin-1 carries cargo toward which end of a microtubule?
Odpoveď
The plus end.
Kartička 25
Otázka
What mechanical role do intermediate-filament networks provide when a cell is stretched?
Odpoveď
They help distribute tensile stress and resist damage from stretching.
Kartička 26
Otázka
In an animal-cell contractile ring, is myosin II a motor or an actin building subunit?
Odpoveď
A motor. Actin supplies the filament subunits.
Kartička 27
Otázka
What does the typical 9 + 2 pattern of an airway motile cilium describe?
Odpoveď
Nine outer microtubule doublets around two central single microtubules.
Kartička 28
Otázka
Does the name kinesin alone guarantee plus-end-directed movement?
Odpoveď
No. Kinesin families differ; some move toward minus ends. Specify the kinesin type before assigning a direction.
Kartička 29
Otázka
How do the core filaments of microvilli differ from those of eukaryotic cilia?
Odpoveď
Microvilli have actin bundles; cilia have a microtubule-based axoneme.
Kartička 30
Otázka
The nuclear lamina is built from which major filament family?
Odpoveď
Intermediate filaments, specifically lamins.
Kartička 31
Otázka
In animal-cell division, which structure constricts the cell surface: the spindle or the contractile ring?
Odpoveď
The contractile ring. Its actin–myosin machinery narrows the cleavage furrow.
Kartička 32
Otázka
What is a common role of a non-motile primary cilium?
Odpoveď
Sensing and coordinating signals. It acts as a specialized signaling compartment.
Kartička 33
Otázka
Which motor family drives sliding between neighboring microtubule doublets in a motile cilium?
Odpoveď
Axonemal dyneins. Structural constraints convert that sliding into bending.
Kartička 34
Otázka
Does vesicle transport by itself identify a microtubule track?
Odpoveď
No. Vesicles can use microtubules or actin-based transport. The motor identity or filament composition supplies a better clue.
Kartička 35
Otázka
A prompt asks for the filament family containing keratin. Is keratin alone the requested answer?
Odpoveď
No. Answer intermediate filaments. Keratin names a building protein, not the filament family.
Kartička 36
Otázka
What microtubule pattern is commonly used to describe a primary cilium?
Odpoveď
The 9 + 0 pattern: nine outer doublets without a central pair. It is a typical description, not a universal rule for every cross-section.
Kartička 37
Otázka
A filament is assembled from alpha–beta tubulin dimers. Which filament family is it?
Odpoveď
Microtubules.
Kartička 38
Otázka
What does the centrosome do for microtubules in many animal cells?
Odpoveď
It acts as a microtubule-organizing center, helping nucleate and organize the microtubule array.
Kartička 39
Otázka
A vesicle is moved by myosin. Which filament supplies its track?
Odpoveď
Actin. Myosin-based cargo transport uses actin filaments.
Kartička 40
Otázka
Why can’t a 9 + 0 axoneme alone establish that a cilium is non-motile?
Odpoveď
Motile embryonic nodal cilia are a counterexample. Arrangement alone does not establish motility.
Kartička 41
Otázka
What extra clue would help identify a fiber described only as supporting cell shape?
Odpoveď
Its protein composition or a specific structure it forms. All three major filament systems contribute to cell mechanics.
Kartička 42
Otázka
Why is the claim that all intermediate filaments lie in the cytoplasm incorrect?
Odpoveď
Lamins form the nuclear lamina inside the nucleus.
Kartička 43
Otázka
In a 9 + 2 axoneme, does the 9 count nine individual microtubules?
Odpoveď
No. It counts nine outer doublets. The central 2 counts two single microtubules.
Kartička 44
Otázka
An ATP-powered motor uses either actin or microtubules. What missing information would identify its track?
Odpoveď
The motor family. Myosins use actin; kinesins and dyneins use microtubules. ATP use alone does not distinguish them.
Kartička 45
Otázka
What missing detail would distinguish fibers described only as helping animal-cell division?
Odpoveď
The division structure or step. Spindle fibers are microtubules; the contractile ring contains actin.
Kartička 46
Otázka
A student says microvilli are miniature cilia because both project from the cell. What core-filament correction is needed?
Odpoveď
Microvilli are supported by actin bundles; cilia have a microtubule-based core. Surface shape alone does not make them the same structure.
Kartička 47
Otázka
In microtubule-based transport, how does the filament’s role differ from the motor’s?
Odpoveď
The microtubule supplies a track; kinesin or dynein supplies motor activity.
Kartička 48
Otázka
What extra detail is needed to identify a cytoskeletal system described only as enabling cell movement?
Odpoveď
The type of movement. Actin supports crawling; microtubules and dyneins support ciliary or flagellar motion.
Kartička 49
Otázka
Is it accurate to say that microtubules have no role in animal-cell cytokinesis because the ring uses actin?
Odpoveď
No. Microtubules also help coordinate cytokinesis, including positioning and organizing the division machinery.
Kartička 50
Otázka
Is the cytoskeleton a permanent, unchanging scaffold?
Odpoveď
No. Its filaments and networks can assemble, disassemble, and reorganize as the cell’s needs change.
50 kartičiek
Cytoskeleton Flashcards: Fibers, Motors & Functions
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