Role of Hydrodynamics in the Synchronization of Chlamydomonas Flagella

While hydrodynamic coupling has long been considered essential for synchronization of eukaryotic flagella, recent experiments on the unicellular biflagellate model organism Chlamydomonas demonstrate that -at the single cell level- intracellular mechanical coupling is necessary for coordination. It is therefore unclear what role, if any, hydrodynamic forces actually play in the synchronization of multiple flagella within individual cells, arguably the building block of large scale coordination. Here we address this question experimentally by transiently blocking hydrodynamic coupling between the two flagella of single Chlamydomonas. Our results reveal that in wild type cells intracellularly mediated forces are necessary and sufficient for flagellar synchronization, with hydrodynamic coupling causing minimal changes in flagellar dynamics. However, fluid-mediated ciliary coupling is responsible for the extended periods of anti-phase synchronization observed in a mutant with weaker intracellular coupling. At the single-cell level, therefore, flagellar coordination depends on a subtle balance between intracellular and extracellular forces.