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Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: A Model System for the Genetic Analysis of Flagellar Structure and Motility

1986; Elsevier BV; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0074-7696(08)61427-8

2163-5854

Bessie Huang,

Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms

The chapter discusses the characteristics of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that make it uniquely useful for genetic analysis of flagellar function and structure. The chapter presents a review of how recent analyses of various flagellar mutants have contributed to the knowledge of the properties and interactions of individual flagellar proteins in the structure and function of the flagellum. The unicellular green alga C. reinhardtii possesses a co mbination of characteristics that makes it a particularly favorable organism for genetic and biochemical studies. It is a haploid cell, which can be grown vegetatively to high densities on defined media, either in liquid cultures or as lawns on agar plates. Its mitotic division can be synchronized by use of alternating light and dark periods, and it has a wide temperature growth range of 15–34°C. C. reinhardtii has a defined nuclear genetic system for which 18 linkage groups have been identified. The cells undergo a classical meiosis, and methods for the production and isolation of meiotic products in unordered tetrads are well established. In Chlamydomonas, a single pair of motile flagella approximately 10 μm in length is found at the anterior pole of the cell. The flagella in Chlamydomonas have a typical eukaryotic structure. In addition to this transient reversal of swimming direction, Chlamydomonas cells also display other behavioral responses thatare mediated by changes in flagellar activity. Chlamydomonas cells exhibit both positive and negative phototaxis. In Chlamydomonas the kinetics of flagellar regeneration have been well characterized. The chapter describes how the use of classical genetic methods combined with structural and biochemical analysis of Chlamydomonas flagellar mutants has contributed to dissecting the enormous complexity of the flagellar axoneme.