The Cytoskeleton (OCR)

• Cytoskeleton


  Complex network of protein fibers running throughout the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells
• Components of the cytoskeleton


  • Microfilaments
  • Intermediate fibers
  • Microtubules
• Microfilaments


  • Narrowest diameter
  • Contain the protein actin
  • Can contract
  • Involved in cell movement and cell division
• Intermediate fibers


  • Diameter in between microfilaments and microtubules
  • Formed from a number of different proteins
  • Strengthen the cell
• Microtubules


  • Greatest diameter
  • Formed from subunits of the protein tubulin
  • Involved in organelle movement, chromosome movement during mitosis and meiosis, and determining cell shape