Kinetics of the regeneration of sea-urchin cilia.

The kinetics of the regeneration of cilia of the sea urchin Tripneutes gratilla have been examined. The maximum cilia length is attained asymptotically which may reflect the transport of precursors to the distal tip. However, a detailed analysis indicates that the maximum length is regulated by a mechanism other than the availability of precursors at the distal end. It is argued that this control is independent of the size of the precursor pool, the rate of protein synthesis or the rate of precursor transport to the distal tip.