Figure 5.

Flagellar growth rate is length dependent. (A) Strategy for measuring flagellar elongation rate of partial-length flagella. Gametes with partial-length flagella are produced either by taking shf1 mutants that constitutively form short flagella, or by inducing flagellar regeneration in wild-type gametes in the absence of protein synthesis, under which conditions cells grow half-length flagella. Once cells with partial-length flagella are obtained, these are mated to wild-type cells of the opposite mating type having full-length flagella. Immediately after mating, the lengths of all four flagella are measured at 5- to 10-min time points. (B) Flagellar elongation in shf1 cells mated to wild type. Red circles, average length of short flagella after mating to wild-type cells (n = 56 flagella measured per time point). Green circles, average length of wild-type flagella regenerating in a control experiment (n = 30 flagella measured per time point). Error bars indicate SE of the mean length. (C) Flagellar elongation after mating of wild-type cells with partial-length flagella regenerated in cycloheximide (red circles; n = 10 flagella measured per time point) to wild-type cells with full-length flagella, compared with regeneration of flagella in completely deflagellated cells (green circles; n = 20 flagella measured per time point). Control regeneration kinetics and extent are different than in B because the mating experiment as well as the wild-type control were both done in the presence of cycloheximide.