scholarly journals Abnormal basal-body number, location, and orientation in a striated fiber-defective mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 1697-1707 ◽  
Author(s):  
R L Wright ◽  
B Chojnacki ◽  
J W Jarvik
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Mendelian Gene ◽  
Defective Mutant ◽  
Rotational Orientation ◽  
Striated Fiber

We describe a mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in which basal body associated striated fibers are absent or incomplete. Basal body spacing, angle, and relative rotational orientation are abnormal and extremely variable. Abnormal partitioning of cellular contents at cytokinesis is also evident. Mating, maintenance of flagellar length equality, and backward swimming response are normal. Genetic analysis indicates mutation of a new Mendelian gene--vfl-3--linked to the centromere of Chromosome VI.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional Organization of Basal Bodies from Wild-Type and δ-Tubulin Deletion Strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 2999-3012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen T. O'Toole ◽  
Thomas H. Giddings ◽  
J. Richard McIntosh ◽  
Susan K. Dutcher
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tubulin Isoforms ◽  
Striated Fiber ◽  
And Function

Improved methods of specimen preparation and dual-axis electron tomography have been used to study the structure and organization of basal bodies in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Novel structures have been found in both wild type and strains with mutations that affect specific tubulin isoforms. Previous studies have shown that strains lacking δ-tubulin fail to assemble the C-tubule of the basal body. Tomographic reconstructions of basal bodies from the δ-tubulin deletion mutant uni3-1 have confirmed that basal bodies contain mostly doublet microtubules. Our methods now show that the stellate fibers, which are present only in the transition zone of wild-type cells, repeat within the core of uni3-1 basal bodies. The distal striated fiber is incomplete in this mutant, rootlet microtubules can be misplaced, and multiflagellate cells have been observed. A suppressor of uni3-1, designated tua2-6, contains a mutation in α-tubulin. tua2-6; uni3-1 cells build both flagella, yet they retain defects in basal body structure and in rootlet microtubule positioning. These data suggest that the presence of specific tubulin isoforms in Chlamydomonas directly affects the assembly and function of both basal bodies and basal body-associated structures.

scholarly journals BALD-2: a mutation affecting the formation of doublet and triplet sets of microtubules in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

1975 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 480-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
U W Goodenough ◽  
H S StClair
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Transition Region ◽  
Structural Stability ◽  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Fiber Material ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Critical Properties ◽  
Striated Fiber

The mutant strain bald-2 is unique among "flagellaless" strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii isolated to date, in that it possesses a mutant basal body: it is only capable of forming a ring of nine singlet microtubules, 180 nm in diameter, instead of the usual triplet basal body which is 225 nm in diameter. This singlet basal body lacks structural stability and the ability to associate with striated fiber material but retains two critical properties of basal bodies, namely, information specifying the length to which it should elongate and the ability to induce, albeit rarely, a flagellar transition region, a short, singlet-containing axoneme, and a specialized tunnel in the cell wall through which flagella normally emerge. The mutation seems to be specific for B- and C-microtubule synthesis or assembly since all other cytoplasmic sets of microtubules appear normal in numbers, orientation, and stability.

scholarly journals The Vfl1 Protein in Chlamydomonas Localizes in a Rotationally Asymmetric Pattern at the Distal Ends of the Basal Bodies

2001 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn D. Silflow ◽  
Matthew LaVoie ◽  
Lai-Wa Tam ◽  
Susan Tousey ◽  
Mark Sanders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basal Body ◽  
Rotational Symmetry ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Mutant Phenotype ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Repeat Sequences ◽  
Coiled Coil Domain ◽  
Cell Biol ◽  
Asymmetric Pattern ◽  
Rotational Orientation

In the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas, two anterior flagella are positioned with 180° rotational symmetry, such that the flagella beat with the effective strokes in opposite directions (Hoops, H.J., and G.B. Witman. 1983. J. Cell Biol. 97:902–908). The vfl1 mutation results in variable numbers and positioning of flagella and basal bodies (Adams, G.M.W., R.L. Wright, and J.W. Jarvik. 1985. J. Cell Biol. 100:955–964). Using a tagged allele, we cloned the VFL1 gene that encodes a protein of 128 kD with five leucine-rich repeat sequences near the NH2 terminus and a large α-helical–coiled coil domain at the COOH terminus. An epitope-tagged gene construct rescued the mutant phenotype and expressed a tagged protein (Vfl1p) that copurified with basal body flagellar apparatuses. Immunofluorescence experiments showed that Vfl1p localized with basal bodies and probasal bodies. Immunogold labeling localized Vfl1p inside the lumen of the basal body at the distal end. Distribution of gold particles was rotationally asymmetric, with most particles located near the doublet microtubules that face the opposite basal body. The mutant phenotype, together with the localization results, suggest that Vfl1p plays a role in establishing the correct rotational orientation of basal bodies. Vfl1p is the first reported molecular marker of the rotational asymmetry inherent to basal bodies.

General characteristics, molecular and genetic analysis of two new UV-sensitive mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

1987 ◽  
Vol 183 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Vlček ◽  
Svetlana Podstavkova ◽  
Eva Miadokova ◽  
G.M.W. Adams ◽  
Gary D. Small
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii

scholarly journals A nucleus-basal body connector in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that may function in basal body localization or segregation.

1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 1903-1912 ◽  
Author(s):  
R L Wright ◽  
J Salisbury ◽  
J W Jarvik
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Electron Microscopic Observation ◽  
Variable Number ◽  
Immunofluorescent Staining ◽  
Major Protein ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
And Function

We have isolated a nucleus-basal body complex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The complex is strongly immunoreactive to an antibody generated against a major protein constituent of isolated Tetraselmis striata flagellar roots (Salisbury, J. L., A. Baron, B. Surek, and M. Melkonian, J. Cell Biol., 99:962-970). Electrophoretic and immunoelectrophoretic analysis indicates that, like the Tetraselmis protein, the Chlamydomonas antigen consists of two acidic isoforms of approximately 20 kD. Indirect immunofluorescent staining of nucleus-basal body complexes reveals two major fibers in the connector region, one between each basal body and the nucleus. The nucleus is also strongly immunoreactive, with staining radiating around much of the nucleus from a region of greatest concentration at the connector pole. Calcium treatment causes shortening of the connector fibers and also movement of nuclear DNA towards the connector pole. Electron microscopic observation of negatively stained nucleus-basal body complexes reveals a cluster of approximately 6-nm filaments, suspected to represent the connector, between the basal bodies and nuclei. A mutant with a variable number of flagella, vfl-2-220, is defective with respect to the nucleus-basal body association. This observation encourages us to speculate that the nucleus-basal body union is important for accurate basal body localization within the cell and/or for accurate segregation of parental and daughter basal bodies at cell division. A physical association between nuclei and basal bodies or centrioles has been observed in a variety of algal, protozoan, and metazoan cells, although the nature of the association, in terms of both structure and function, has been obscure. We believe it likely that fibrous connectors homologous to those described here for Chlamydomonas are general features of centriole-bearing eucaryotic cells.

scholarly journals The basal bodies of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Formation from probasal bodies, isolation, and partial characterization.

1975 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
R R Gould
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Polyethylene Glycol 400 ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Particulate Contamination ◽  
Whole Mount ◽  
Carbon Coated

The assembly and composition of basal bodies was investigated in the single-celled, biflagellate green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, using the cell wall-less strain, cw15. In the presence of EDTA, both flagellar axonemes remained attached to their basal bodies while the entire basal body-axoneme complex was separated from the cell body, without cell lysis, by treatment with polyethylene glycol-400. The axonemes were then removed from the basal bodies in the absence of EDTA, leaving intact basal body pairs, free from particulate contamination from other regions of the cell. The isolated organelles produced several bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate-urea polyacrylamide gels, including two tubilin bands which co-electrophoresed with flagellar tubulin. The formation of probasal bodies was observed by electron microscopy of whole mount preparations. Synchronous cells were lysed, centrifuged onto carbon-coated grids, and either negatively stained or shadowed with platinum. The two probasal bodies of each cell appeared shortly after mitosis as thin "annuli," not visible in thin sections, each consisting of nine rudimentary triplet microtubules. Each annulus remained attached to one of the mature basal bodies by several filaments about 60 in diameter, and persisted throughout interphase until just before the next cell division. It then elongated into a mature organelle. The results revive the possibility of the nucleated assembly of basal bodies.

scholarly journals The Uni2 Phosphoprotein is a Cell Cycle–regulated Component of the Basal Body Maturation Pathway in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 262-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian P. Piasecki ◽  
Matthew LaVoie ◽  
Lai-Wa Tam ◽  
Paul A. Lefebvre ◽  
Carolyn D. Silflow
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Mitotic Progression ◽  
Transition Zones ◽  
Phosphatase Treatment ◽  
Flagellar Assembly ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Sequential Assembly

Mutations in the UNI2 locus in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii result in a “uniflagellar” phenotype in which flagellar assembly occurs preferentially from the older basal body and ultrastructural defects reside in the transition zones. The UNI2 gene encodes a protein of 134 kDa that shares 20.5% homology with a human protein. Immunofluorescence microscopy localized the protein on both basal bodies and probasal bodies. The protein is present as at least two molecular-weight variants that can be converted to a single form with phosphatase treatment. Synthesis of Uni2 protein is induced during cell division cycles; accumulation of the phosphorylated form coincides with assembly of transition zones and flagella at the end of the division cycle. Using the Uni2 protein as a cell cycle marker of basal bodies, we observed migration of basal bodies before flagellar resorption in some cells, indicating that flagellar resorption is not required for mitotic progression. We observed the sequential assembly of new probasal bodies beginning at prophase. The uni2 mutants may be defective in the pathways leading to flagellar assembly and to basal body maturation.

scholarly journals Drosophila Bld10 Is a Centriolar Protein That Regulates Centriole, Basal Body, and Motile Cilium Assembly

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2605-2614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violaine Mottier-Pavie ◽  
Timothy L. Megraw
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Human Diseases ◽  
Cell Physiology ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Male Sterile ◽  
Central Pair ◽  
Animal Development ◽  
Cilia And Flagella

Cilia and flagella play multiple essential roles in animal development and cell physiology. Defective cilium assembly or motility represents the etiological basis for a growing number of human diseases. Therefore, how cilia and flagella assemble and the processes that drive motility are essential for understanding these diseases. Here we show that Drosophila Bld10, the ortholog of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Bld10p and human Cep135, is a ubiquitous centriolar protein that also localizes to the spermatid basal body. Mutants that lack Bld10 assemble centrioles and form functional centrosomes, but centrioles and spermatid basal bodies are short in length. bld10 mutant flies are viable but male sterile, producing immotile sperm whose axonemes are deficient in the central pair of microtubules. These results show that Drosophila Bld10 is required for centriole and axoneme assembly to confer cilium motility.

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