A steering mechanism for phototaxis in Chlamydomonas

Rachel R Bennett; Ramin Golestanian

doi:10.1098/rsif.2014.1164

A steering mechanism for phototaxis in Chlamydomonas

J R Soc Interface. 2015 Mar 6;12(104):20141164. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2014.1164.

Authors

Rachel R Bennett¹, Ramin Golestanian²

Affiliations

¹ Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK.
² Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK ramin.golestanian@physics.ox.ac.uk.

Abstract

Chlamydomonas shows both positive and negative phototaxis. It has a single eyespot near its equator, and as the cell rotates during the forward motion, the light signal received by the eyespot varies. We use a simple mechanical model of Chlamydomonas that couples the flagellar beat pattern to the light intensity at the eyespot to demonstrate a mechanism for phototactic steering that is consistent with observations. The direction of phototaxis is controlled by a parameter in our model, and the steering mechanism is robust to noise. Our model shows switching between directed phototaxis when the light is on and run-and-tumble behaviour in the dark.

Keywords: cell locomotion; flagella; phototaxis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Algorithms
Biophysics
Chlamydomonas / physiology*
Flagella / physiology
Light*
Models, Biological
Movement
Reproducibility of Results