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First published online 1 August 2006
doi: 10.1242/jcs.03078
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Research Article |
1 INSERM U565 and CNRS UMR5153 and MNHN USM0503, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 43 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France
2 USM0504, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 61 rue Buffon, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France
3 CNRS UMR7009, Station zoologique, BP28, 06230 Villefranche sur Mer, France
Author for correspondence (e-mail: pbastin{at}pasteur.fr)
Accepted 5 June 2006
The Trypanosoma brucei flagellum is unusual as it is attached along the cell body and contains, in addition to an apparently conventional axoneme, a structure called the paraflagellar rod, which is essential for cell motility. Here, we investigated flagellum behaviour in normal and mutant trypanosome cell lines where expression of genes encoding various axoneme proteins (PF16, PF20, DNAI1, LC2) had been silenced by RNAi. First, we show that the propulsive wave (normally used for forward motility) is abolished in the absence of outer dynein arms, whereas the reverse wave (normally used for changing direction) still occurs. Second, in contrast to Chlamydomonas - but like metazoa, the central pair adopts a fixed orientation during flagellum beating. This orientation becomes highly variable in central-pair- and outer-dynein-arm-mutants. Third, the paraflagellar rod contributes to motility by facilitating three-dimensional wave propagation and controlling cell shape. Fourth, motility is required to complete the last stage of cell division in both insect and bloodstream stages of the parasite. Finally, our study also reveals the conservation of molecular components of the trypanosome flagellum. Coupled to the ease of reverse genetics, it raises the interest of trypanosomes as model organisms to study cilia and flagella.
Key words: Flagellum, Axoneme, Central pair, Motility, Trypanosome, Paraflagellar rod
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