Dr. Mitchell et Ws. Sale, Characterization of a Chlamydomonas insertional mutant that disrupts flagellar central pair microtubule-associated structures, J CELL BIOL, 144(2), 1999, pp. 293-304
Two alleles at a new locus, central pair-associated complex 1 (CPC1), were
selected in a screen for Chlamydomonas flagellar motility mutations. These
mutations disrupt structures associated with central pair microtubules and
reduce flagellar beat frequency, but do not prevent changes in flagellar ac
tivity associated with either photophobic responses or phototactic accumula
tion of live cells. Comparison of cpc1 and pf6 axonemes shows that cpc1 aff
ects a row of projections along C1 microtubules distinct from those missing
in pf6, and a row of thin fibers that form an are between the two central
pair microtubules. Electron microscopic images of the central pair in axone
mes from radial spoke-defective strains reveal previously undescribed centr
al pair structures, including projections extending laterally toward radial
spoke heads, and a diagonal link between the C2 microtubule and the cpc1 p
rojection. By SDS-PAGE, cpc1 axonemes show reductions of 350-, 265-, and 79
-kD proteins. When extracted from wild-type axonemes, these three proteins
cosediment on sucrose gradients with three other central pair proteins (135
, 125, and 56 kD) in a 16S complex. Characterization of cpc1 provides new i
nsights into the structure and biochemistry of the central pair apparatus,
and into its function as a regulator of dynein-based motility.