X-Ray Fiber Diffraction and Numerical Simulation Studies on the Change in the Helical Symmetry of Chlamydomonas Flagellar Axonemes Coupled with the Change in Ca2+ Concentrations

Abstract

Cilia and flagella are motile organelles found in various types of eukaryotes. In their axonemes, dynein arms generate shear between adjacent doublets, and this shear is converted into complex waveforms. The conversion mechanism has remained a long-standing unresolved issue. Since Chlamydomonas flagella change their waveforms from a flagellar type to a ciliary type, responding to the increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentrations, this response may provide a hint for the mechanism of the flagellar waveform generation.