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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Reactivation of Demembranated Cell Models in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Published on: May 6, 2022
Chlamydomonas swims with two "gears" in a eukaryotic version of run-and-tumble locomotion
Marco Polin1, Idan Tuval, Knut Drescher
1Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK.
Abstract:
The coordination of eukaryotic flagella is essential for many of the most basic processes of life (motility, sensing, and development), yet its emergence and regulation and its connection to locomotion are poorly understood. Previous studies show that the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas, widely regarded as an ideal system in which to study flagellar biology, swims forward by the synchronous action of its two flagella. Using high-speed imaging over long intervals, we found a richer behavior: A cell swimming in the dark stochastically switches between synchronous and asynchronous flagellar beating. Three-dimensional tracking shows that these regimes lead, respectively, to nearly straight swimming and to abrupt large reorientations, which yield a eukaryotic version of the "run-and-tumble" motion of peritrichously flagellated bacteria.
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