Tektins are cytoskeletal proteins found in cilia and flagella as structural components of outer doublet microtubules.
Along each tektin rod, cysteine residues occur with a periodicity of ~8 nm, coincident with the axial repeat of tubulin dimers in microtubules.
[4] It is proposed that the assembly of tektin heteropolymers produces filaments with repeats of 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 and 96 nm, generating the basis for the complex spatial arrangements of axonemal components.
[6] The study of tektins has also been found to be useful in phylogeny, to establish evolutionary relationship between organisms.
[7] Amino acid sequences of tektins are well conserved, with significant similarity between mouse and human homologs.