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Flagellar gliding in choanoflagellates.

Maite Freire-Delgado1, Thibaut Brunet1

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Choanoflagellates, the sister group to animals, exhibit a previously unrecognized form of cell motility called gliding. This flagellum-driven movement requires intraflagellar transport (IFT) and expands our understanding of eukaryotic cell locomotion.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Eukaryotic cells exhibit diverse motility mechanisms, including swimming and crawling.
  • Gliding motility, defined as locomotion without cell deformation, is known outside the animal-related opisthokont lineage.
  • Choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of animals, possess flagella and are crucial for understanding animal evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the motility capabilities of choanoflagellates under specific conditions.
  • To determine the mechanisms underlying choanoflagellate locomotion.
  • To explore the evolutionary origins of cell motility within eukaryotes.

Main Methods:

  • Observation of choanoflagellate behavior under mild confinement.
  • Experimental ablation of flagella to assess motility.
  • Treatment with chemical inhibitors of intraflagellar transport (IFT).

Main Results:

  • Choanoflagellates demonstrate gliding motility when subjected to mild confinement.
  • Flagellum ablation completely abolished gliding motility in choanoflagellates.
  • Inhibition of intraflagellar transport (IFT) also prevented gliding, indicating its necessity.

Conclusions:

  • Choanoflagellates possess a gliding motility mechanism mediated by their flagella.
  • Intraflagellar transport (IFT) is essential for choanoflagellate gliding.
  • This finding expands the known repertoire of choanoflagellate motility and provides insights into the evolution of cell movement.