Flagellar beating requires the precise regulation of at least four different dynein motor complexes.
Our goal is to understand the role of the central apparatus in this regulation. By using the biflagellate green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model system, we have available to us the most complete and advanced array of biochemical, molecular, and genetic techniques with which to study eukaryotic flagella. As a first step towards understanding the role of the central apparatus in motility, we have begun cloning and characterizing genes involved in central apparatus assembly and function. Because the structure and composition of eukaryotic flagella is highly conserved, information gained from Chlamydomonas will be applicable to mammalian cilia. In addition, one gene we have recently sequenced is the Chlamydomonas homologue of katanin p80, a ubiquitous protein involved in altering microtubule dynamics.