Journal Article

Flagellar synchronization through direct hydrodynamic interactions

Goldstein, Raymond E, Brumley, Douglas R, Wan, Kirsty Y, Polin, Marco

2014

Overview

Flows generated by ensembles of flagella are crucial to development, motility and sensing, but the mechanisms behind this striking coordination remain unclear. We present novel experiments in which two micropipette-held somatic cells of Volvox carteri, with distinct intrinsic beating frequencies, are studied by high-speed imaging as a function of their separation and orientation. Analysis of time series shows that the interflagellar coupling, constrained by lack of connections between cells to be hydrodynamical, exhibits a spatial dependence consistent with theory. At close spacings it produces robust synchrony for thousands of beats, while at increasing separations synchrony is degraded by stochastic processes. Manipulation of the relative flagellar orientation reveals in-phase and antiphase states, consistent with dynamical theories. Flagellar tracking with exquisite precision reveals waveform changes that result from hydrodynamic coupling. This study proves unequivocally that flagella coupled solely through a fluid can achieve robust synchrony despite differences in their intrinsic properties. Sperm cells, as well as many bacteria and algae, propel themselves using whip-like appendages called flagella. Similar, shorter structures called cilia are also found on the surface of many cells, where they perform roles such as moving liquids over the cell. Each cilium or flagellum beats at its own characteristic rhythm, but there are many situations where cilia or flagella must synchronize their beating with other nearby cells. For example, an egg cell is swept along the Fallopian tube by the coordinated beating of the cilia lining the tube. Bull sperm cells are also known to synchronize the beating of their flagella when swimming close to each other. It has been suggested that the movement of the fluid surrounding the beating flagella could be the source of this synchronization. Experiments have produced results that match up with mathematical models describing this fluid movement. However, these experiments have often been designed in ways that didn’t fully exclude other possible sources of synchronization, such as chemical signalling, or—for flagella located on the same cell—a physical connection between the flagella. To overcome this shortcoming, Brumley et al. used high-speed imaging to watch the flagella of cells of Volvox carteri—a species of green alga—that were separated so that they could only communicate through the movement of the fluid around them. The flagella were still able to synchronize their beating, even when the two flagella naturally beat at substantially different rates. The distance between the flagella affects how well the beating synchronizes. When close together, the flagella can lock into the same rhythm for thousands of beats. However, as they move further apart, random biochemical fluctuations within the cells reduce the extent to which the flagella can synchronize. The flagella can also synchronize so that they move in the same direction at the same time, or in opposite directions, depending on how they are oriented relative to each other. Moreover, the results confirm that the fluid flow produced by a beating flagellum is sufficient to synchronize the beating of other nearby flagella.

• Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd,eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subject: Biophysics and Structural Biology / Cell Biology / Cell Movement / Chlamydomonas / Chlamydomonas - cytology / Chlamydomonas - metabolism / Flagella / Flagella - metabolism / Fluids / Hydrodynamics / Models, Molecular / Orbits / Somatic cells / Stochastic Processes / Synchronization / Volvox / Volvox - cytology / Volvox - metabolism