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Gravitaxis in Euglena

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Euglena: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 979))

Abstract

Motile microorganisms utilize a number of responses to external stimuli including light, temperature, chemicals as well as magnetic and electric fields. Gravity is a major clue to select a niche in their environment. Positive gravitaxis leads an organism down into the water column and negative gravitaxis brings it to the surface. In Euglena the precision of gravitaxis is regulated by an internal rhythm entrained by the daily light/dark cycle. This and the cooperation with phototaxis bring the cells into an optimal position in the water column. In the past a passive orientation based on a buoy mechanism has been proposed for Euglena gracilis, but now it has been proven that this flagellate possesses a physiological gravireceptor and an active orientation. Numerous experiments in space using satellites, rockets and shuttles as well as in parabolic flights have been conducted as well as in functional weightlessness (simulated microgravity) on ground-based facilities such as clinostats to characterize the gravitaxis of Euglena. The threshold for gravity perception was determined and physiological, biochemical and molecular components of the signal transduction chain have been identified. In contrast to higher plants, some algae and ciliates, Euglena does not possess sedimenting statoliths to detect the direction of the gravity vector of the Earth. The gravireceptors were found to be mechano-sensitive Ca2+-conducting ion channels thought to be located at the front end of the cell underneath the trailing flagellum. When activated by gravity-induced pressure due to sedimentation of the whole cell body, they allow a passive influx of calcium along a previously established ion gradient. The entering calcium binds to a specific calmodulin (CaM.2) which in turn activates an adenylyl cyclase producing cAMP from ATP. This cAMP is believed to activate a specific protein kinase A (PK.4), which is postulated to phosphorylate proteins inside the flagellum resulting in a bending and thus a course correction and reorientation with respect to the direction of the gravity vector. The elements of the signal transduction chain have been characterized by inhibitors and by RNAi to prove their involvement in gravitaxis.

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Abbreviations

DCFA-DAL:

2′,7′ dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

BLAST:

Basic local alignment search tool

CaM:

Calmodulin

cAMP:

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate

dsRNA:

Double-stranded RNA

EGTA:

Ethylene glycol-bis (β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid

IBM-X:

3-Isobutyl-1-methylxanthin

ISS:

International Space Station

LED:

Light emitting diode

mRNA:

Messenger RNA

NiZeMi:

Slow rotating centrifuge microscope

PAC:

Photoactivated adenylyl cyclase

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

PK:

Protein kinase

RNA:

Ribonucleic acid

RNAi:

RNA interference

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

RPM:

Random Positioning Machine

rpm:

Revolutions per minute

TEXUS:

Technical experiments under microgravity

TPMP+ :

Triphenylmethyl phosphonium ion

TRP:

Transient receptor potential

UV:

Ultraviolet radiation

W7:

N-(6-Aminohexyl)-5-chlor-1-naphthalinsulfonamid

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank their coworkers P. Richter, M. Ntefidou and S. Strauch for critically reading the manuscript. Funding of the underlying research by DFG, DLR, ESA, NASA and BMBF is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Neue Str. 9, 91096, Möhrendorf, Germany

    Donat-P. Häder

  2. Gravitational Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Linder Höhe, 51147, Cologne, Germany

    Ruth Hemmersbach

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  1. Donat-P. Häder
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  2. Ruth Hemmersbach
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Correspondence to Donat-P. Häder .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

    Steven D. Schwartzbach

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, Kindai University, Nara, Japan

    Shigeru Shigeoka

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Häder, DP., Hemmersbach, R. (2017). Gravitaxis in Euglena . In: Schwartzbach, S., Shigeoka, S. (eds) Euglena: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 979. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54910-1_12

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