Abstract
UNLIKE the one-dimensional movement of striated muscle, the beat of a cilium is typically three dimensional1. Thus, the dynein arms, which are situated on the peripheral tubules around the circumference as well as longitudinally along the cilium, must be temporally coordinated in their actions. The mechanism for coordination is not known. The present study was undertaken to see whether the pair of central microtubules exhibits any systematic movement during the ciliary beat. We conclude that the central pair of tubules rotates anticlockwise 360° per beat cycle and that this rotation may regulate the dynein arms. Paramecium cilia were used because: markers distinguish the two central tubules so that their orientation can be unambiguously determined; and the metachronal waves of cilia can be ‘instantaneously fixed’ for the analysis of sequential phases of the beat.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Sleigh, M. A. in Cilia and Flagella (ed. Sleigh, M. A.) 72–92 (Academic, New York, 1974).
Satir, P. J. Cell. Biol. 39, 77–94 (1968).
Summers, K. E. & Gibbons, I. R., Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 68, 3092–3096 (1971).
Satir, P. in Cilia and Flagella (ed. Sleigh, M. A.) 131–142 (Academic, New York, 1974).
Gibbons, I. R. et al. in Cell Motility Book C. Microtubules and Related Proteins (eds Goldman, R., Pollard, T. & Rosenbaum, J.) 915–932 (Cold Spring Harbor, New York, 1976).
Sale, W. S. & Satir, P. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74, 2045–2049 (1977).
Afzelius, B. A. J. Biophys. Biochem. Cytol. 9, 383–394 (1961).
Gibbons, I. R. J. Biophys. Biochem. Cytol. 11, 199–205 (1961).
Tamm, S. L. & Horridge, G. A. Proc. R. Soc. B175, 219–233 (1970).
Randall, J. & Starling, D. in Genetics of Algae (ed. Lewin, R. A.) 49–62 (Univ. California, Berkeley, 1976).
Witman, G. B. et al. in Cell Motility Book C. Microtubules & Related Proteins (eds Goldman, R., Pollard, E. & Rosenbaum, J.) 969–986 (Cold Spring Harbor, New York, 1976).
Warner, F. D. & Satir, P. J. Cell Biol. 63, 35–63 (1974).
Chasey, D. J. Cell Sci. 5, 453–458 (1969).
Dute, R. & Kung, C. J. Cell Biol. 78, 451–464 (1978).
Sonneborn, T. M. Meth Cell Physiol. 4, 241–339 (1970).
Mollenhauer, H. H. Stain Technol. 39, 111–114 (1964).
Spurr, A. R. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 26, 31–43 (1969).
Frasca, J. M. & Parks, V. R. J. Cell Biol. 25, 157–161 (1965).
Bray, D. F. & Wagenaar, E. B. Can. J. Bot. 56, 129–132 (1978).
Reynolds, E. S. J. Cell Biol. 17, 208–212 (1963).
Hausmann, K. & Fischer-Defoy, D. Cell Biol. Int. Rep. 2, 475–478 (1978).
Machemer, H. in Cilia and Flagella (ed. Sleigh, M. A.) 199–286 (Academic, New York, 1974).
Satir, P. J. Cell Biol. 18, 345–365 (1963).
Jarosch, R. & Fuchs, B. Protoplasma 85, 285–290 (1975).
Hiramoto, Y. & Baba, S. A. J. exp. Biol. 76, 85–104 (1978).
Sturgess, J. M. J. Cell Biol. 79, 298a (1978).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
OMOTO, C., KUNG, C. The pair of central tubules rotates during ciliary beat in Paramecium. Nature 279, 532–534 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/279532a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/279532a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Trypanosoma cruzi Importin α: ability to bind to a functional classical nuclear localization signal of the bipartite type
Parasitology Research (2020)
-
Calcium sensors of ciliary outer arm dynein: functions and phylogenetic considerations for eukaryotic evolution
Cilia (2015)
-
The hydrocephalus inducing gene product, Hydin, positions axonemal central pair microtubules
BMC Biology (2007)
-
Ultrastructural and biochemical analysis of a new mutation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii affecting the central pair apparatus
Protoplasma (2007)
-
Ultrastructure of the flagellar apparatus inPyramimonas octopus (Prasinophyceae)
Protoplasma (1987)