The primary cilia are ubiquitous solitary organelles functioning as multi-sensors, required for tissue homeostasis, vision, olfaction and developmental signalling in response to extracellular cues. We study how these tiny structures are assembled, disassembled, and orchestrate numerous signalling pathways.
Even though primary cilium was discovered in the 1960s, it remained an "anomalous and rudimentary structure with no function" for decades". However, over the years, primary cilia have been dubbed "Signalling Antennae" as they host signalling proteins, receptors – GPCRs, and secondary messengers to orchestrate several signalling pathways. The requirement of primary cilia for transduction of developmental Hedgehog signalling and the ciliary dysfunction being the root cause for genetic disorders called 'Ciliopathies', characterized by obesity, cystic kidneys, retinal degeneration, skeletal malformations, and brain anomalies, underscores the central role of cilia as a signalling hub.