Flagellar regeneration in the scaly green flagellateTetraselmis striata (Prasinophyceae): regeneration kinetics and effect of inhibitors

Flagellar regeneration after experimental amputation was studied in synchronized axenic cultures of the scaly green flagellateTetraselmis striata (Prasinophyceae). After removal of flagella by mechanical shearing, 95% of the cells regrow all four flagella (incl. the scaly covering) to nearly full length with a linear velocity of 50 nm/min under standard conditions. Flagellar regeneration is independent of photosynthesis (no effect of DCMU; the same regeneration rate in the light or in the dark), but depends on de novo protein synthesis: cycloheximide at a low concentration (0.35 μM) blocks flagellar regeneration reversibly. No pool of flagellar precursors appears to be present throughout the flagellated phase of the cell cycle. A transient pool of flagellar precursors, sufficient to generate 2.5 μm of flagellar length, however, develops during flagellar regeneration. Tunicamycin (2 μg/ml) inhibits flagellar regeneration only after a second flagellar amputation, when flagella reach only one third the length of the control. Flagellar regeneration inT. striata differs considerably from that ofChlamydomonas reinhardtii and represents an excellent model system for the study of synchronous Golgi apparatus (GA) activation, and transport and exocytosis of GA-derived macromolecules (scales).