Differential inhibition by erythro-9-[3-(2-hydroxynonyl)]adenine of flagella-like and cilia-like movement of Leishmania promastigotes.

Erythro-9-[3-(2-hydroxynonyl)]adenine (EHNA) inhibits axonemal dynein ATPase activity and hence the beating of sea urchin and mammalian flagella. We have found that EHNA has an unusual effect on the flagella of Leishmania promastigotes in that it alters both the waveform and polarity of the beat. We report here results which suggest that in Leishmania promastigotes there are either distinct EHNA-sensitive dyneins or different conformational states of a single dynein involved in the cilia-like and flagella-like waveforms and in the propagation of flagellar waves from tip-to-base and from base-to-tip.