Orientation of Paramecium swimming in a DC magnetic field

We found that a ciliated protozoan, Paramecium, swam perpendicular to a static (DC) magnetic field (0.68 T). The swimming orientation was similar even when the ionic current through the cell membrane disappeared after saponin treatment. To determine the diamagnetic anisotropy of intracellular organs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioelectromagnetics 2002-12, Vol.23 (8), p.607-613
Main Authors: Nakaoka, Yasuo, Takeda, Ryutaro, Shimizu, Kikuo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anisotropy
Cell Line
cilia
Cilia - physiology
Cilia - radiation effects
Cilia - ultrastructure
diamagnetic anisotropy
Electromagnetic Fields
magnetic orientation
Magnetics
Organelles - physiology
Organelles - radiation effects
Organelles - ultrastructure
Paramecium
Paramecium - classification
Paramecium - cytology
Paramecium - physiology
Paramecium - radiation effects
Paramecium tetraurelia - classification
Paramecium tetraurelia - cytology
Paramecium tetraurelia - physiology
Paramecium tetraurelia - radiation effects
Reproducibility of Results
Saponins - metabolism
Saponins - pharmacology
Sensitivity and Specificity
Swimming - physiology
trichocysts
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Summary:We found that a ciliated protozoan, Paramecium, swam perpendicular to a static (DC) magnetic field (0.68 T). The swimming orientation was similar even when the ionic current through the cell membrane disappeared after saponin treatment. To determine the diamagnetic anisotropy of intracellular organs, macronuclei, cilia, and secretory vesicles, trichocysts, were selectively isolated. Both cilia and trichocysts tended to align their long axis parallel to the magnetic field (0.78 T). Paramecium mutants that lack trichocysts also swam perpendicular to the magnetic field, although the proportion fraction was smaller than the normal population. Since large numbers of cilia and trichocysts are arranged at right angles to the long axis of the cell, the diamagnetic anisotropies of cilia and trichocysts cause the long axis of the cell to align perpendicular to the magnetic field. In contrast to the DC magnetic field, an alternative (AC) magnetic field (60 Hz, 0.65 T) had almost no effect on the swimming orientation of Paramecium. Bioelectromagnetics 23:607–613, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0197-8462
1521-186X
DOI:10.1002/bem.10059