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First published online 5 August 2008
doi: 10.1242/jcs.031195

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Mechanism of flagellar oscillation–bending-induced switching of dynein activity in elastase-treated axonemes of sea urchin sperm

Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: chikako{at}biol.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp)

Accepted 16 June 2008

Oscillatory movement of eukaryotic flagella is caused by dynein-driven microtubule sliding in the axoneme. The mechanical feedback from the bending itself is involved in the regulation of dynein activity, the main mechanism of which is thought to be switching of the activity of dynein between the two sides of the central pair microtubules. To test this, we developed an experimental system using elastase-treated axonemes of sperm flagella, which have a large Ca²⁺-induced principal bend (P-bend) at the base. On photoreleasing ATP from caged ATP, they slid apart into two bundles of doublets. When the distal overlap region of the slid bundles was bent in the direction opposite to the basal P-bend, backward sliding of the thinner bundle was induced along the flagellum including the bent region. The velocity of the backward sliding was significantly lower than that of the forward sliding, supporting the idea that the dynein activity alternated between the two sides of the central pair on bending. Our results show that the combination of the direction of bending and the conformational state of dynein-microtubule interaction induce the switching of the dynein activity in flagella, thus providing the basis for flagellar oscillation.

Key words: Dynein, Flagella, Oscillation, Imposed bending, Sperm, Sea urchin

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