The eukaryotic flagellum/cilium is a prominent organelle with conserved structure and diverse functions. Euglena gracilis, a photosynthetic and highly adaptable protist, employs its flagella for both locomotion and environmental sensing. Using proteomics of isolated E. gracilis flagella we identify nearly 1700 protein groups, which challenges previous estimates of the protein complexity of motile eukaryotic flagella. We not only identified several unexpected similarities shared with mammalian flagella, including an entire glycolytic pathway and proteasome, but also document a vast array of flagella-based signal transduction components that coordinate gravitaxis and phototactic motility. By contrast, the pellicle was found to consist of > 900 protein groups, containing additional structural and signalling components. Our data identify significant adaptations within the E. gracilis flagellum, many of which are clearly linked to the highly flexible lifestyle.

Department of Parasitology Faculty of Science BIOCEV Charles University Vestec 252 50 Czech Republic

Faculty of Sciences University of South Bohemia České Budějovice 370 05 Czech Republic

Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Prague 142 20 Czech Republic

Institute of Parasitology Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences České Budějovice 370 05 Czech Republic

School of Life Sciences University of Dundee Dundee DD1 5EH UK

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