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The pair of central tubules rotates during ciliary beat in Paramecium

Nature volume 279, pages 532–534 (1979)Cite this article

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706

    CHARLOTTE K. OMOTO & CHING KUNG

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  1. CHARLOTTE K. OMOTO
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  2. CHING KUNG
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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

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