Abstract
THE manner in which a cell regulates the size and number of its organelles is not fully understood. We have studied the regulation of flagellar length. Flagella are organelles involved in cellular motility and sensory transduction1, and in standardised conditions, the flagella of a given species are constant in length and number. Thus, taxonomists include these characteristics in species descriptions2. The organism we are investigating is the unicellular biflagellate green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardi, in which the two flagella are of equal length2. If the flagella of Chlamydomonas are amputated, they regenerate to their original length in approximately 90 min (ref. 3). If only one flagellum is removed the remaining organelle shrinks while the new flagellum is elongating, until both are of the same length. At this point both organelles proceed to elongate, stopping when the normal length is reached3,4. Resorption of organelles containing microtubules has been shown to occur under a number of conditions in different organisms5. Recently it has been shown that the flagella of Chlamydomonas can be caused to shorten by a variety of agents such as pyrophosphate6–8, chelators6, halo-thane9 and other salt solutions6,10,11. This large variety of substances led us to study the effects of tonicity, per se, on flagellar length.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Solter, K. M. & Gibor, A. Nature 265, 444–445 (1977).
Gerloff, J. Arch Protistenk. 94, 311–502 (1940).
Rosenbaum, J. L., Moulder, J. E. & Ringo, D. L. J. Cell Biol. 41, 600–619 (1969).
Coyne, B. & Rosenbaum, J. L. J. Cell Biol. 47, 777–781 (1970).
Bloodgood, R. A. Cytobios 9, 143–161 (1974).
Quader, H., Cherniack, J. & Filner, P. P. Physiol. 59 (Suppl.), 19a (1977).
Handa, A. K., Cherniack, J. & Filner, P. J. Cell Biol. 75, 285a (1977).
Cherniack, J., and Filner, P. P. Physiol. 61 (Suppl.), 30a (1978).
Telser, A. Exptl. Cell Res. 107, 247–252 (1977).
Lefebvre, P. A. & Rosenbaum, J. L. J. Cell. Biol. 75, 293a (1977).
Dentler, W. L. & Rosenbaum, J. L. J. Cell Biol. 74, 747–759 (1977).
Solter, K. M. & Gibor, A. Plant Sci. Lett. 8, 227–231 (1977).
Ray, D. A., Solter, K. M. & Gibor, A. Expl Cell Res. 114, 185–189 (1978).
Kilburn, K. H., Hess, R. A., Thurston, D. J. & Smith, T. J. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 60, 34–43 (1977).
McVittie, A. Genet. Res. 9, 157–164 (1972).
McVittie, A. J. gen. Microbiol. 71, 525–540 (1972).
Farrell, K. W. J. Cell Sci. 20, 639–654 (1976).
Gorovsky, M. A., Carlson, K. & Rosenbaum, J. L. Analyt. Biochem. 35, 359–370 (1970).
Nelsen, E. M. Expl Cell Res. 94, 152–158 (1975).
Johnson, L. P. in The Biology of Euglena, I (ed. Buetow, D. E.), 1–25 (Academic, New York, 1968).
Quader, H., Cherniak, J. & Filner, F. Expl Cell Res. 113, 295–301 (1978).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
SOLTER, K., GIBOR, A. The relationship between tonicity and flagellar length. Nature 275, 651–652 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/275651a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/275651a0
This article is cited by
-
Mechanism of ciliary disassembly
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (2016)
-
Cnidocil regeneration in nematocytes ofHydra
Protoplasma (1990)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.