open access

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/34763

Locomotive Mechanism of Physarum Plasmodia based on Spatiotemporal Analysis of Protoplasmic Streaming

Locomotive mechanism of an amoeba

英語

soft matter

2008-04-01

Biophysical Society

Biophysical Journal

94(7)

2492-2504

We investigate how an amoeba mechanically moves its own center of gravity using the model organism Physarum plasmodium. Time-dependent velocity fields of protoplasmic streaming over the whole plasmodia were measured with a particle image velocimetry program developed for this work. Combining these data with measurements of the simultaneous movements of the plasmodia revealed a simple physical mechanism of locomotion. The shuttle streaming of the protoplasm was not truly symmetric due to the peristalsis-like movements of the plasmodium. This asymmetry meant that the transport capacity of the stream was not equal in both directions, and a net forward displacement of the center of gravity resulted. The generality of this as a mechanism for amoeboid locomotion is discussed.

学術雑誌論文

Accepted Manuscript

0006-3495

1542-0086

AA00566095