Rotation of the central pair microtubules in eukaryotic flagella.

It has been 20 years since the phenomenon of central pair rotation in eukaryotic flagella was reported (Omoto, and Kung, 1979 ). At that time, a model was proposed in which the central pair functions as a distributor to regulate dynein activity among the outer doublet microtubules. The video evidence obtained since then and gathered together in this essay is consistent with this model. Geometric arguments indicate that there must be circumferential and longitudinal regulation of shear forces to produce effective bending motion of an axoneme. Central pair microtubules are ideally situated to perform this regulatory function. The regulation of outer doublet sliding by the central pair, together with the rotation of the latter, where this occurs, may explain the wide diversity of two- and three-dimensional flagellar and ciliary waveforms that is found in organisms using the same basic 9 + 2 structure.

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