An electrophysiological and kinematic model of Paramecium, the "swimming neuron"

Paramecium is a large unicellular organism that swims in fresh water using cilia. When stimulated by various means (mechanically, chemically, optically, thermally), it often swims backward then turns and swims forward again in a new direction: this is called the avoiding reaction. This reaction is t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS computational biology 2023-02, Vol.19 (2), p.e1010899
Main Authors: Elices, Irene, Kulkarni, Anirudh, Escoubet, Nicolas, Pontani, Léa-Laetitia, Prevost, Alexis Michel, Brette, Romain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action potential
Analysis
Biology and Life Sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Calcium
Cardiac Electrophysiology
Cilia
Cilia - physiology
Control
Electrodes
Electrophysiology
Engineering and Technology
Fresh water
Freshwater organisms
Identification and classification
Kinematics
Life Sciences
Microbiology and Parasitology
Microscopy
Neurons
Organisms
Paramecia
Paramecium
Paramecium - physiology
Particle image velocimetry
Physical Sciences
Social Sciences
Swimming
Swimming - physiology
Velocity
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Summary:Paramecium is a large unicellular organism that swims in fresh water using cilia. When stimulated by various means (mechanically, chemically, optically, thermally), it often swims backward then turns and swims forward again in a new direction: this is called the avoiding reaction. This reaction is triggered by a calcium-based action potential. For this reason, several authors have called Paramecium the "swimming neuron". Here we present an empirically constrained model of its action potential based on electrophysiology experiments on live immobilized paramecia, together with simultaneous measurement of ciliary beating using particle image velocimetry. Using these measurements and additional behavioral measurements of free swimming, we extend the electrophysiological model by coupling calcium concentration to kinematic parameters, turning it into a swimming model. In this way, we obtain a model of autonomously behaving Paramecium. Finally, we demonstrate how the modeled organism interacts with an environment, can follow gradients and display collective behavior. This work provides a modeling basis for investigating the physiological basis of autonomous behavior of Paramecium in ecological environments.
ISSN:1553-7358
1553-734X
1553-7358
DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010899