How do dynein arms generate bending in cilia and flagella?
Generation of ciliary and flagellar bending explained by sliding filament model originally proposed by Afzelius and refined by Satir Summers Gibbons and later cryo EM studies visualizing dynein power stroke in situ. Axonemal dynein heavy chains anchored on A tubule of doublet hydrolyze ATP in AAA ring inducing 8 nm movement bending of linker domain that swings stalk toward microtubule plus tip causing interdoublet sliding up to several hundred nanometers in disintegrated axonemes. Because doublets anchored at basal body microtubule organizing center and interconnected by elastic nexin links le
Ref: Satir et al., J Cell Biol 2014; Summers & Gibbons 1971 – Dynein arms generate bending by ATP hydrolysis sliding doublets.