Authors
Omoto, Charlotte K.Gibbons, Ian R.
Kamiya, Ritsu
Shingyoji, Chikako
Takahashi, Keiichi
Witman, George B.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Cell BiologyDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
1999-01-08Keywords
AlgaeAnimals
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Flagella
Male
Microscopy, Video
Microtubules
Rotation
Sea Urchins
Sperm Tail
Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
Cell Biology
Cells
Enzymes and Coenzymes
Investigative Techniques
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The typical structure of the eukaryotic flagellum consists of a central pair of singlet microtubules surrounded by nine doublet microtubules, called the axoneme. Much has been discovered regarding the mechanism by which axonemes produce motion: ATP is used by dynein arms found on the A tubules of the doublet microtubules to produce shear force against the B tubules. These shear forces are then converted to bending. However, if all the dynein arms along the length of the axoneme and on all doublets attempted to produce shear simultaneously, no effective movement would result. Thus, regulation of active shear force is required. Evidence suggests that the central pair–radial spoke complex is involved in this regulation. The first evidence came from an electron micrograph study in which the central pair microtubules of Paramecium, “instantaneously fixed” and serially sectioned, appeared to be oriented in systematically changing angles. This was interpreted as rotation of the central pair with respect to the nine outer doublets per beat cycle (Omoto and Kung, 1979 , 1980 ). It was suggested that the central pair may act as a “distributor” to regulate the activity of dyneins.Source
Mol Biol Cell. 1999 Jan;10(1):1-4.
DOI
10.1091/mbc.10.1.1Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/26520PubMed ID
9880321Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1091/mbc.10.1.1