A Quantitative Study of Agglutination in Chlamydomonas Moewusii

Abstract

A quantitative method for the measurement of agglutination among Chlamydomonas moewusii gametes has been presented. Using this technique, it was demonstrated that gametes possess a higher Con A isoagglutinability than vegetative cells and the + mating type is more isoagglutinable by Con A in both the vegetative and gametic states than the - mating type. Pairing is inhibited by both colchicine and trypsin treatments of gametes but agglutination is not significantly inhibited. Data from preliminary experiments in which ferritin Con A was used as a marker was suggestive of the fact that colchicine may have prevented the distal clustering of Con A receptor sites on flagellar tips during mating interactions. The involvement of Con A receptor sites in mating interactions is implicated and the mechanism of tipping is discussed in terms of the colchicine and trypsin data presented.