Functionally significant central-pair rotation in a primitive eukaryotic flagellum
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Cell BiologyDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
1981-04-23
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
There is now considerable evidence that the basis for ciliary and flagellar movement is an active sliding between peripheral doublet microtubules which, when resisted by structures within the axoneme, leads to axonemal bend formation. In contrast, relatively little is known about the control mechanisms which coordinate the interdoublet sliding and axonemal binding to produce the effective motion observed in various cilia and flagella. One component of the axoneme which may be involved in this control is the central pair of microtubules. To learn more about the action of the central pair, we have studied the tiny uniflagellate marine alga, Micromonas pusilla. The central tubules of the M. pusilla flagellum extend for several micrometres beyond the termination of the peripheral doublets, thus permitting direct observation of the central pair during flagellar movement. Our findings, reported here, indicate that in living M. pusilla the central pair of microtubules undergoes continuous rotation in one direction. This rotation provides the motive force for the cell.Source
Nature. 1981 Apr 23;290(5808):708-10.
DOI
10.1038/290708a0Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/26545PubMed ID
7219555Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1038/290708a0