Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

[The flagellum: from cell motility to morphogenesis].

Linda Kohl1, Derrick Robinson, Philippe Bastin

  • 1INSERM U565 & CNRS UMR8646, Laboratoire de Biophysique, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 43, rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France.

Journal De La Societe De Biologie
|March 10, 2004
PubMed
Summary

The flagellum in Trypanosoma brucei is crucial for cell size and division. Its length directly influences cell morphogenesis and the initiation of cytokinesis.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Intraflagellar transport selectivity occurs within the proximal portion of the trypanosome flagellum.

The Journal of cell biology·2025
Same author

Host environment shapes filarial parasite fitness and Wolbachia endosymbionts dynamics.

PLoS pathogens·2025
Same author

Mass Spectrometry Reveals Novel Features of Tubulin Polyglutamylation in the Flagellum of <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i>.

Journal of proteome research·2025
Same author

A novel approach to tagging tubulin reveals microtubule assembly dynamics of the axoneme in Trypanosoma brucei.

Journal of cell science·2025
Same author

Discriminating motilities: Coordinating IFT with flagellar beating patterns.

The Journal of cell biology·2024
Same author

LRRC56 is an IFT cargo required for assembly of the distal dynein docking complex in <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i>.

Molecular biology of the cell·2024

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Parasitology
  • Cytoskeletal Dynamics

Background:

  • Flagella and cilia are conserved cytoskeletal structures involved in motility and sensory functions across diverse organisms.
  • Their roles in cell morphogenesis and division are less understood, particularly in unicellular eukaryotes like Trypanosoma brucei.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the novel role of the flagellum in controlling cell morphogenesis and division in Trypanosoma brucei.
  • To understand the relationship between flagellum length and cell size and division timing.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized inducible RNA interference (RNAi) to silence components of intraflagellar transport (IFT), essential for flagellum assembly.
  • Analyzed cell size, morphology, and division patterns in response to experimentally shortened or absent flagella.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Down-regulation of IFT resulted in shorter flagella and a direct correlation between flagellum length and cell size.
  • The flagellum tip was identified as the initiation site for cell division (cytokinesis).
  • Complete blockage of flagellum formation led to severely shortened, misshapen cells that failed to divide.

Conclusions:

  • The flagellum plays a critical, previously unrecognized role in regulating cell morphogenesis and division in Trypanosoma brucei.
  • Flagellum elongation is a key factor controlling the formation of cell body cytoskeletal structures that organize cell polarity and division.