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Calcium wave for cytoplasmic streaming of Physarum polycephalum
Author(s) -
Yoshiyama Shinji,
Ishigami Mitsuo,
Nakamura Akio,
Kohama Kazuhiro
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
cell biology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1095-8355
pISSN - 1065-6995
DOI - 10.1042/cbi20090158
Subject(s) - physarum polycephalum , physarum , cytoplasmic streaming , cytoplasm , contraction (grammar) , calcium , biophysics , plasmodium (life cycle) , relaxation (psychology) , intracellular , wavelength , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , physics , optics , endocrinology , neuroscience , parasite hosting , organic chemistry , world wide web , computer science
The plasmodium Physarum polycepharum exhibits periodic cycles of cytoplasmic streaming in association with those of contraction and relaxation movement. In the present study, we injected Calcium Green dextran as a fluorescent Ca 2+ indicator into the thin‐spread living plasmodium. We found changes in the [Ca 2+ ]i (intracellular concentration of Ca 2+ ), which propagated in a wave‐like form in its cytoplasm. The Ca 2+ waves were also detected when we used Fura dextran which detected [Ca 2+ ]i by the ratio of two wavelengths. We prepared the plasmodial fragment from the thin‐spread and found that the cycles of the contraction–relaxation movement was so synchronized that the measurement of its area provided an indication of the movement. We observed that [Ca 2+ ]i also synchronized in the entire fragment and that the relaxation ensued upon the reduction in [Ca 2+ ]i. We suggest that the Ca 2+ wave generated periodically is one of the major factors playing a crucial role in the relaxation of P. polycepharum .