Hydrostatic pressure reversibly blocks membrane control of ciliary motility in Paramecium.
A hydrostatic pressure of only 68 atmospheres prevented swimming Paramecium caudatum from "avoiding" or reversing direction; 170 atmospheres stopped or decreased forward velocity by more than 75 percent. A decompression of 40 atmospheres invoked a single reversal, even at ,80 atmospheres. In contrast, 170 atmospheres did not significantly affect swimming behavior of paramecium "models" that were reactivated in a solution containing adenosine triphosphate and magnesium ions after their membrane had been disrupted by Triton X-100.
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D002923:Cilia / Q000502:physiology; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D009068:Movement; D009154:Mutation; D010247:Paramecium / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000494:pharmacology
D007473:Ion Channels; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols