Landmark contributions of Chlamydomonas to understanding cilia

Landmarks in Chlamydomonas have been made possible by innovations in genetics, proteomics, bioinformatics, and molecular genetics. The development of “the parts list” has provided a candidate gene list for the identification of human diseases. These tools in Chlamydomonas have provided structural and mechanistic insights into the roles of different structures in motility and signaling. Among the key findings are the insights into intraflagellar transport machinery, the composition of IFT trains, and the unique transport of different cargos. Studies in Chlamydomonas have made key contributions to understanding the structure of the dynein arms, their placement along the axoneme, the regulation of their enzyme activity for walking on microtubules, and coordination of the dynein arms along and around the axoneme. Cryo-electron microscopy of Chlamydomonas ciliary axonemes combined with new gene-editing will test models of axonemal assembly and the mechanism of motility.