Abstract
Membrane excitation was the basis for backward swimming of Paramecium facing stimulus. According to standard genetic tests, inexcitable mutants fell into three complementation groups for both Paramecium tetraurelia (pwA, pwB, and pwC) and Paramecium caudatum (cnrA, cnrB, and cnrC). Cytoplasm from a wild type transferred to a mutant through microinjection restored the excitability. Transfusions between genetically defined complementation groups of the same species effected curing, whereas transfusions between different mutants (alleles) of the same group or between sister cells of the same mutant clone did not. Cytoplasmic transfers of all combinations among the six groups of mutants of the two species showed that any cytoplasm, except those from the same group, was able to cure. Since the pawns and the caudatum nonreversals complement one another through transfusion, they appeared to belong to six different complementation groups. The extent of curing, the amount of transfer needed to cure, and the time course of curing were characteristic of the group that received the transfusion. Variations in these parameters further suggested that the six groups represented six different genes. Because the donor cytoplasms from either species were equally effective quantitatively in curing a given mutant, the curing factors were not species specific. These factors are discussed.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (602.4 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Berger J. D. Gene expression and phenotypic change in Paramecium tetraurelia exconjugants. Genet Res. 1976 Apr;27(2):123–134. doi: 10.1017/s0016672300016335. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chang S. Y., Kung C. Genetic Analyses of Heat-Sensitve Pawn Mutants of PARAMECIUM AURELIA. Genetics. 1973 Sep;75(1):49–59. doi: 10.1093/genetics/75.1.49. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chang S. Y., Kung C. Temperature-sensitive pawns: conditional behavioral mutants of Paramecium aurelia. Science. 1973 Jun 15;180(4091):1197–1199. doi: 10.1126/science.180.4091.1197. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Chang S. Y., Van Houten J., Robles L. J., Lui S. S., Kung C. An extensive behavioural and genetic analysis of the pawn mutants in Paramecium aurelia. Genet Res. 1974 Apr;23(2):165–173. doi: 10.1017/s0016672300014786. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Eckert R., Brehm P. Ionic mechanisms of excitation in Paramecium. Annu Rev Biophys Bioeng. 1979;8:353–383. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bb.08.060179.002033. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Haga N., Forte M., Saimi Y., Kung C. Microinjection of cytoplasm as a test of complementation in Paramecium. J Cell Biol. 1982 Feb;92(2):559–564. doi: 10.1083/jcb.92.2.559. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Haga N., Hiwatashi K. A soluble gene product controlling membrane excitability in Paramecium. Cell Biol Int Rep. 1982 Mar;6(3):295–300. doi: 10.1016/0309-1651(82)90082-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hiwatashi K., Haga N., Takahashi M. Restoration of membrane excitability in a behavioral mutant of Paramecium caudatum during conjugation and by microinjection of wild-type cytoplasm. J Cell Biol. 1980 Feb;84(2):476–480. doi: 10.1083/jcb.84.2.476. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Koizumi S. Microinjection and transfer of cytoplasm in Paramecium. Experiments on the transfer of kappa particles into cells at different stages. Exp Cell Res. 1974 Sep;88(1):74–78. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(74)90619-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kung C., Chang S. Y., Satow Y., Houten J. V., Hansma H. Genetic dissection of behavior in paramecium. Science. 1975 May 30;188(4191):898–904. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kung C., Eckert R. Genetic modification of electric properties in an excitable membrane (paramecium-calcium conductance-electrophysiological measurements-membrane mutant). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972 Jan;69(1):93–97. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.1.93. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kung C. Genic mutants with altered system of excitation in Paramecium aurelia. II. Mutagenesis, screening and genetic analysis of the mutants. Genetics. 1971 Sep;69(1):29–45. doi: 10.1093/genetics/69.1.29. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kung C., Saimi Y. The physiological basis of taxes in Paramecium. Annu Rev Physiol. 1982;44:519–534. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ph.44.030182.002511. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Naito Y., Kaneko H. Reactivated triton-extracted models o paramecium: modification of ciliary movement by calcium ions. Science. 1972 May 5;176(4034):523–524. doi: 10.1126/science.176.4034.523. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Oertel D., Schein S. J., Kung C. Separation of membrane currents using a Paramecium mutant. Nature. 1977 Jul 14;268(5616):120–124. doi: 10.1038/268120a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Saimi Y., Kung C. Are ions involved in the gating of calcium channels? Science. 1982 Oct 8;218(4568):153–156. doi: 10.1126/science.6289432. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Satow Y., Chang S. Y., Kung C. Membrane excitability: made temperature-dependent by mutations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Jul;71(7):2703–2706. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.7.2703. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Satow Y., Kung C. Membrane currents of pawn mutants of the pwA group in Paramecium tetraurelia. J Exp Biol. 1980 Feb;84:57–71. doi: 10.1242/jeb.84.1.57. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schein S. J. Nonbehavioral selection for pawns, mutants of Paramecium aurelia with decreased excitability. Genetics. 1976 Nov;84(3):453–468. doi: 10.1093/genetics/84.3.453. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Takahashi M. Behavioral Mutants in PARAMECIUM CAUDATUM. Genetics. 1979 Mar;91(3):393–408. doi: 10.1093/genetics/91.3.393. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Takahashi M., Naitoh Y. Behavioural mutants of Paramecium caudatum with defective membranes electrogenesis. Nature. 1978 Feb 16;271(5646):656–659. doi: 10.1038/271656a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]