Studies on Protoplasmic Streaming in Myxomycete Plasmodium
摘要
1. The motive force of flow in the plasmodium of a Myxomycete, Physarum polycephalum, was investigated, using Kamiya's double-chamber method. The results thus obtained, together with data published by the present author, as well as by other investigators, are discussed with special reference to the mechanism underlying the protoplasmic streaming of the plasmodium. 2. The metabolism of the plasmodium under the influence of metabolic poisons such as carbon monoxide, cyanide, monoiodoacetic acid, sodium fluoride and 2, 4-dinitrophenol, and reduced oxygen tension was investigated. The results thus obtained are compared with observations concerning the effects of these factors on the motive force of proto-plasmic flow. 3. Judging from these experimental results, it is inferred that the ATP formed in the fermentative process in the plasmodium makes the immediate source of energy for the production of the motive force of flow. 4. It is concluded that an actomyosin-like protein participates as the mechanism converting the chemical energy of ATP into mechanical work. The simultaneous participation of a conductive system in\ the process is also suggested.