Revealing the nanoscale morphology of the primary cilium using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy

Super-resolution (SR) microscopy has been used to observe structural details beyond the diffraction limit of ∼250 nm in a variety of biological and materials systems. By combining this imaging technique with both computer-vision algorithms and topological methods, we reveal and quantify the nanoscale morphology of the primary cilium, a tiny tubular cellular structure (∼2-6 μm long and 200-300 nm diameter). The cilium in mammalian cells protrudes out of the plasma membrane and is important in many signaling processes related to cellular differentiation and disease.

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