Summary
Cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i, in microplasmodia of Physarum polycephalum showing relatively synchronized contraction and relaxation cycles, was measured by a highly fluorescent Ca2+-sensitive dye, fura-2. Fura-2 dissolved in a solution containing Mg-ATP and sorbitol was directly injected into microplasmodia, and easily diffused into the entire cytosol without being sealed off by the newly formed membrane. [Ca2+]i oscillated principally around 300 nM with a frequency similar to that of the contraction and relaxation cycle. [Ca2+]i was revealed to be high in the contracted phase of microplasmodia and low in the relaxed phase, although this clear relation endured for only several cycles.
Artificial elevation of free Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+], of the bathing solution between pCa 8 and 6 brought about the contraction of saponin and EGTA-permeabilized microplasmodia in the presence of ATP. This ensemble of results strongly suggests that in living Physarum microplasmodia, the rise in [Ca2+]i induces the contraction of the actomyosin system.
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Abbreviations
- EGTA:
-
ethylene glycol bis(β-aminoethyl ether)
- N,N,N´:
-
N´-tetraacetic acid
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Dedicated to Professor Dr. Noburo Kamiya on the occasion of his 75th birthday
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Kuroda, R., Hatano, S., Hiramoto, Y., Kuroda, H. (1988). Change of Cytosolic Ca-Ion Concentration in the Contraction and Relaxation Cycle of Physarum Microplasmodia. In: Tazawa, M. (eds) Cell Dynamics. Protoplasma, vol 1. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-9008-1_10
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