title: Gliding movement in Peranema trichophorum is powered by flagellar surface motility.
abstract: A colorless euglenoid flagellate Peranema trichophorum shows unique unidirectional gliding cell locomotion on the substratum at velocities up to 30 micro m/s by an as yet unexplained mechanism. In this study, we found that (1) treatment with NiCl(2) inhibited flagellar beating without any effect on gliding movement; (2) water currents applied to a gliding cell from opposite sides caused detachment of the cell body from the substratum. With only the anterior flagellum adhering to the substratum, gliding movement continued along the direction of the anterior flagellum; (3) gentle pipetting induced flagellar severance into various lengths. In these cells, gliding velocity was proportional to the flagellar length; and (4) Polystyrene beads were translocated along the surface of the anterior flagellum. All of these results indicate that a cell surface motility system is present on the anterior flagellum, which is responsible for cell gliding in P. trichophorum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Yasutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suetomo
authors.forename: Mikihiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arikawa
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Omura
authors.forename: S M Mostafa Kamal
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Soichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kakuta
authors.forename: Etsuko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Suzaki
authors.forename: Katsuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.forename: Toshinobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D005055:Euglena / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005407:Flagella / Q000502:physiology*; D008124:Locomotion; D017348:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Transmission; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011137:Polystyrenes