Testing the role of intraflagellar transport in flagellar length control using length-altering mutants of Chlamydomonas.

ABSTRACT: Cilia and flagella are ideal model organelles in which to study the general question of organelle size control. Flagellar microtubules are steady-state structures whose size is set by the balance of assembly and disassembly. Assembly requires intraflagellar transport (IFT), and measurements of IFT have shown that the rate of entry of IFT particles into the flagellum is a decreasing function of length. It has been proposed that this length dependence of IFT may be the basis for flagellar length control. Here, we test this idea by showing that three different long-flagella mutations in Chlamydomonas all cause increased IFT injection, thus confirming that IFT can influence length control. However, quantitative comparisons with mathematical models suggest that the increase in injection

SUBMITTER: Wemmer K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7017341 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature