Cilia and flagella

AccessScience ◽  
2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cilia And Flagella

Study of eukaryotic flagellar components by cryo-electron microscopy

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 98-101
Author(s):  
John M. Murray ◽  
Rob Ward
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Primary Motion ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cross Links ◽  
Cilia And Flagella

The eukaryotic flagellum is constructed from 11 parallel tubular elements arranged as 9 peripheral fibers (doublet microtubules) and 2 central fibers (singlet microtubules). The primary motion generating component has been found to be arranged as axially periodic “arms” bridging the adjacent doublets. The dynein, comprising the arms, has been isolated and characterized from several different cilia and flagella. Various radial and azimuthal cross-links stabilize the axially aligned microtubules, and probably play some role in controlling the form of the flagella beat cycle.

Observations of Frozen-Hydrated Microtubules

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 504-505
Author(s):  
D. Chrétien ◽  
D. Job ◽  
R.H. Wade
Keyword(s):  
Fourier Transforms ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Image Contrast ◽  
Phase Behaviour ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Surface Lattice ◽  
Cilia And Flagella ◽  
Outstanding Question

Microtubules are filamentary structures found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, where, together with actin and intermediate filaments, they form the components of the cytoskeleton. They have many functions and show various levels of structural complexity as witnessed by the singlet, doublet and triplet structures involved in the architecture of centrioles, basal bodies, cilia and flagella. The accepted microtubule model consists of a 25 nm diameter hollow tube with a wall made up of 13 paraxial protofilaments (pf). Each pf is a string of aligned tubulin dimers. Some results have suggested that the pfs follow a superhelix. To understand how microtubules function in the cell an accurate model of the surface lattice is one of the requirements. For example the 9x2 architecture of the axoneme will depend on the organisation of its component microtubules. We should also note that microtubules with different numbers of pfs have been observed in thin sections of cellular and of in-vitro material. An outstanding question is how does the surface lattice adjust to these different pf numbers?We have been using cryo-electron microscopy of frozen-hydrated samples to study in-vitro assembled microtubules. The experimental conditions are described in detail in this reference. The results obtained in conjunction with thin sections of similar specimens and with axoneme outer doublet fragments have already allowed us to characterise the image contrast of 13, 14 and 15 pf microtubules on the basis of the measured image widths, of the the image contrast symmetry and of the amplitude and phase behaviour along the equator in the computed Fourier transforms. The contrast variations along individual microtubule images can be interpreted in terms of the geometry of the microtubule surface lattice. We can extend these results and make some reasonable predictions about the probable surface lattices in the case of other pf numbers, see Table 1. Figure 1 shows observed images with which these predictions can be compared.

Introductory Remarks

1980 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 598-599
Author(s):  
H. Mohri
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Constant Length ◽  
Thin Filaments ◽  
Bridge Formation ◽  
Thick Filaments ◽  
Sliding Mechanism ◽  
Radial Spokes ◽  
Cilia And Flagella

In 1959, Afzelius observed the presence of two rows of arms projecting from each outer doublet microtubule of the so-called 9 + 2 pattern of cilia and flagella, and suggested a possibility that the outer doublet microtubules slide with respect to each other with the aid of these arms during ciliary and flagellar movement. The identification of the arms as an ATPase, dynein, by Gibbons (1963)strengthened this hypothesis, since the ATPase-bearing heads of myosin molecules projecting from the thick filaments pull the thin filaments by cross-bridge formation during muscle contraction. The first experimental evidence for the sliding mechanism in cilia and flagella was obtained by examining the tip patterns of molluscan gill cilia by Satir (1965) who observed constant length of the microtubules during ciliary bending. Further evidence for the sliding-tubule mechanism was given by Summers and Gibbons (1971), using trypsin-treated axonemal fragments of sea urchin spermatozoa. Upon the addition of ATP, the outer doublets telescoped out from these fragments and the total length reached up to seven or more times that of the original fragment. Thus, the arms on a certain doublet microtubule can walk along the adjacent doublet when the doublet microtubules are disconnected by digestion of the interdoublet links which connect them with each other, or the radial spokes which connect them with the central pair-central sheath complex as illustrated in Fig. 1. On the basis of these pioneer works, the sliding-tubule mechanism has been established as one of the basic mechanisms for ciliary and flagellar movement.

scholarly journals Tubulin glycylation controls axonemal dynein activity, flagellar beat, and male fertility

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 371 (6525) ◽  
pp. eabd4914
Author(s):  
Sudarshan Gadadhar ◽  
Gonzalo Alvarez Viar ◽  
Jan Niklas Hansen ◽  
An Gong ◽  
Aleksandr Kostarev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Posttranslational Modifications ◽  
Male Fertility ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Flagellar Beat ◽  
Cryo Electron Tomography ◽  
Axonemal Dynein ◽  
Dynein Arms ◽  
Cilia And Flagella

Posttranslational modifications of the microtubule cytoskeleton have emerged as key regulators of cellular functions, and their perturbations have been linked to a growing number of human pathologies. Tubulin glycylation modifies microtubules specifically in cilia and flagella, but its functional and mechanistic roles remain unclear. In this study, we generated a mouse model entirely lacking tubulin glycylation. Male mice were subfertile owing to aberrant beat patterns of their sperm flagella, which impeded the straight swimming of sperm cells. Using cryo–electron tomography, we showed that lack of glycylation caused abnormal conformations of the dynein arms within sperm axonemes, providing the structural basis for the observed dysfunction. Our findings reveal the importance of microtubule glycylation for controlled flagellar beating, directional sperm swimming, and male fertility.

scholarly journals Assembly and Motility of Eukaryotic Cilia and Flagella. Lessons from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

2001 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 1500-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn D. Silflow ◽  
Paul A. Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Cilia And Flagella

scholarly journals Dimeric heat shock protein 40 binds radial spokes for generating coupled power strokes and recovery strokes of 9 + 2 flagella

2008 ◽  
Vol 180 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Yang ◽  
Heather A. Owen ◽  
Pinfen Yang
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Heat Shock Protein ◽  
Adenosine Triphosphatase ◽  
Stable Conformation ◽  
Initiation And Propagation ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Radial Spokes ◽  
Cilia And Flagella ◽  
Hsp 40

T-shape radial spokes regulate flagellar beating. However, the precise function and molecular mechanism of these spokes remain unclear. Interestingly, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flagella lacking a dimeric heat shock protein (HSP) 40 at the spokehead–spokestalk juncture appear normal in length and composition but twitch actively while cells jiggle without procession, resembling a central pair (CP) mutant. HSP40− cells begin swimming upon electroporation with recombinant HSP40. Surprisingly, the rescue doesn't require the signature DnaJ domain. Furthermore, the His-Pro-Asp tripeptide that is essential for stimulating HSP70 adenosine triphosphatase diverges in candidate orthologues, including human DnaJB13. Video microscopy reveals hesitance in bend initiation and propagation as well as irregular stalling and stroke switching despite fairly normal waveform. The in vivo evidence suggests that the evolutionarily conserved HSP40 specifically transforms multiple spoke proteins into stable conformation capable of mechanically coupling the CP with dynein motors. This enables 9 + 2 cilia and flagella to bend and switch to generate alternate power strokes and recovery strokes.

Comparative Isolation of Cilia and Flagella from the Lamellibranch Mollusc, Aequipecten irradians

1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-367
Author(s):  
R. W. LINCK
Keyword(s):  
Atpase Activity ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Electron Dense Material ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Fine Structures ◽  
Dynein Arms ◽  
Cilia And Flagella ◽  
Triton X ◽  
Ciliary Ultrastructure

Gill cilia and sperm flagella from the lamellibranch mollusc Aequipecten irradians were compared with respect to their ultrastructures and adenosinetriphosphatase activities. Cilia were isolated from excised gills using 3 different solutions: twice-concentrated seawater, 10 % ethanol-10 mM CaCl2 and 60% glycerol. In each case deciliation occurs by the severance of the cilium at the junction of the transition zone and the basal body, and in each case the ciliary ultrastructure is maintained. Sperm flagella were purified by mechanical decapitation. Cilia and sperm flagella have similar fine structures, except that the matrix of the cilia contains substantially more electron-dense material than that of flagella. The ATPase activity of purified cilia is approximately 0.09,µmol P1/min/mg protein; that of flagella is 0.13. Ciliary and flagellar axonemes were prepared by repeated extraction of the membranes with 1% Triton X-100. Ciliary axonemes maintain their 9 + 2 cylindrical orientation, whereas flagellar axonemes often appear as opened or fragmented arrays of the 9 + 2 structure, due to the partial breakdown of the flagellar nexin fibres. A-subfibre arms which were obvious in whole organelles are rarely seen in axoneme preparations. Again the ciliary matrix is considerably more amorphous than in flagellar axonemes. The ATPase activities of ciliary and flagellar axonemes are 0.13 and 0.12 µmol P1/min/mg protein respectively; however, activities of ciliary axonemes may vary by a factor of 2, depending on the method of isolation. The difficulty in observing A-subfibre arms in cross-sections of ciliary and flagellar axonemes is discussed in terms of random, non-reinforcing arrangements of the dynein arms.

scholarly journals Regulation of flagellar motility by the conserved flagellar protein CG34110/Ccdc135/FAP50

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 976-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yang ◽  
Deborah A. Cochran ◽  
Mary D. Gargano ◽  
Iryna King ◽  
Nayef K. Samhat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flagellar Motility ◽  
Genetic Screens ◽  
Sperm Flagellum ◽  
Respiratory Epithelia ◽  
Downstream Effectors ◽  
Radial Spokes ◽  
Flagellar Proteins ◽  
Flagellar Protein ◽  
Cilia And Flagella ◽  
Lost Boys

Eukaryotic cilia and flagella are vital sensory and motile organelles. The calcium channel PKD2 mediates sensory perception on cilia and flagella, and defects in this can contribute to ciliopathic diseases. Signaling from Pkd2-dependent Ca2+ rise in the cilium to downstream effectors may require intermediary proteins that are largely unknown. To identify these proteins, we carried out genetic screens for mutations affecting Drosophila melanogaster sperm storage, a process mediated by Drosophila Pkd2. Here we show that a new mutation lost boys (lobo) encodes a conserved flagellar protein CG34110, which corresponds to vertebrate Ccdc135 (E = 6e-78) highly expressed in ciliated respiratory epithelia and sperm, and to FAP50 (E = 1e-28) in the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flagellar proteome. CG34110 localizes along the fly sperm flagellum. FAP50 is tightly associated with the outer doublet microtubules of the axoneme and appears not to be a component of the central pair, radial spokes, dynein arms, or structures defined by the mbo waveform mutants. Phenotypic analyses indicate that both Pkd2 and lobo specifically affect sperm movement into the female storage receptacle. We hypothesize that the CG34110/Ccdc135/FAP50 family of conserved flagellar proteins functions within the axoneme to mediate Pkd2-dependent processes in the sperm flagellum and other motile cilia.

scholarly journals Analysis of Flagellar Phosphoproteins from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 922-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Boesger ◽  
Volker Wagner ◽  
Wolfram Weisheit ◽  
Maria Mittag
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Protein Phosphorylation ◽  
Proteome Analysis ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Phosphorylation Sites ◽  
Cell Organelles ◽  
Flagellar Proteins ◽  
Reversible Protein Phosphorylation ◽  
Cilia And Flagella

ABSTRACT Cilia and flagella are cell organelles that are highly conserved throughout evolution. For many years, the green biflagellate alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has served as a model for examination of the structure and function of its flagella, which are similar to certain mammalian cilia. Proteome analysis revealed the presence of several kinases and protein phosphatases in these organelles. Reversible protein phosphorylation can control ciliary beating, motility, signaling, length, and assembly. Despite the importance of this posttranslational modification, the identities of many ciliary phosphoproteins and knowledge about their in vivo phosphorylation sites are still missing. Here we used immobilized metal affinity chromatography to enrich phosphopeptides from purified flagella and analyzed them by mass spectrometry. One hundred forty-one phosphorylated peptides were identified, belonging to 32 flagellar proteins. Thereby, 126 in vivo phosphorylation sites were determined. The flagellar phosphoproteome includes different structural and motor proteins, kinases, proteins with protein interaction domains, and many proteins whose functions are still unknown. In several cases, a dynamic phosphorylation pattern and clustering of phosphorylation sites were found, indicating a complex physiological status and specific control by reversible protein phosphorylation in the flagellum.

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