biostudies-literatureUnknown2(1)Morga BCilia and flagella perform diverse roles in motility and sensory perception, and defects in their construction or their function are responsible for human genetic diseases termed ciliopathies. Cilia and flagella construction relies on intraflagellar transport (IFT), the bi-directional movement of 'trains' composed of protein complexes found between axoneme microtubules and the flagellum membrane. Although extensive information about IFT components and their mode of action were discovered in the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, other model organisms have revealed further insights about IFT. This is the case of Trypanosoma brucei, a flagellated protist responsible for sleeping sickness that is turning out to be an emerging model for studying IFT. In this article, we review different asCilia16https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC4015504biostudies-literatureGetting to the heart of intraflagellar transport using Trypanosoma and Chlamydomonas models: the strength is in their differences.PMC4015504Morga BBastin PfalseGetting to the heart of intraflagellar transport using Trypanosoma and Chlamydomonas models: the strength is in their differences.Cilia and flagella perform diverse roles in motility and sensory perception, and defects in their construction or their function are responsible for human genetic diseases termed ciliopathies. Cilia and flagella construction relies on intraflagellar transport (IFT), the bi-directional movement of 'trains' composed of protein complexes found between axoneme microtubules and the flagellum membrane. Although extensive information about IFT components and their mode of action were discovered in the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, other model organisms have revealed further insights about IFT. This is the case of Trypanosoma brucei, a flagellated protist responsible for sleeping sickness that is turning out to be an emerging model for studying IFT. In this article, we review different as2013-01-01T00:00:00Z2013 Nov2025-05-29T22:00:01.456Z2025-05-29T22:00:01.456ZS-EPMC40155042428947810.1186/2046-2530-2-16