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Rhythmicity, Recurrence, and Recovery of Flagellar Beating

Kirsty Y. Wan and Raymond E. Goldstein
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 238103 – Published 2 December 2014

Abstract

The eukaryotic flagellum beats with apparently unfailing periodicity, yet responds rapidly to stimuli. Like the human heartbeat, flagellar oscillations are now known to be noisy. Using the alga C. reinhardtii, we explore three aspects of nonuniform flagellar beating. We report the existence of rhythmicity, waveform noise peaking at transitions between power and recovery strokes, and fluctuations of interbeat intervals that are correlated and even recurrent, with memory extending to hundreds of beats. These features are altered qualitatively by physiological perturbations. Further, we quantify the recovery of periodic breaststroke beating from transient hydrodynamic forcing. These results will help constrain microscopic theories on the origins and regulation of flagellar beating.

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  • Received 12 June 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.238103

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Kirsty Y. Wan and Raymond E. Goldstein

  • Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 113, Iss. 23 — 5 December 2014

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