Fig. 4.
Electroporation depolarizes membrane potential (Vm) and abolishes electrotaxis. (A) Representative Vm measured at pH 6.5 after electroporation. The moment of electroporation was set as time zero. (B) Electroporated cells lost the electrotactic response, which showed some degree of recovery 30 min later (see video S6 in the supplemental material). (C) Control cells showed robust electrotaxis. (D) Loss of electrotaxis correlated well with Vm. When Vm recovered, electrotaxis recovered significantly. Control, Vm in control cells not electroporated. The EF was 12 V/cm. *, P < 0.001 compared to that of cells not being electroporated; #, P < 0.001 compared to that of cells after 40 min of recovery following electroporation.