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Cytomechanics of oscillatory contractions. 1. Measuring active mechanical properties of the Physarum polycephalum plasmodial strands

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Abstract

An experimental device with an inexpensive electronic-mechanical measurement system was designed to clarify the role of mechanical tensions in cell activation. This device provides for maintaining a specified kinetics of either the object’s length or applied load to measure its tension force or deformation. The experiments were performed with the plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum, a giant unicellular organism, which is a classical object for studying a nonmuscle motility. Several examples of the longitudinal dynamics of the plasmodial strand and its activation in response to periodic switching at certain phases of the contraction- relaxation cycle are described.

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Abbreviations

ADC:

analog-to-digital converter

DAC:

digital-to-analog converter

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow oblast, 142290, Russia

    F. E. Il’yasov, M. A. Morozov & V. A. Teplov

Authors
  1. F. E. Il’yasov
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  2. M. A. Morozov
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  3. V. A. Teplov
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Correspondence to F. E. Il’yasov.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © F.E. Il’yasov, M.A. Morozov, V.A. Teplov, 2008, published in Biofizika, 2008, Vol. 53, No. 6, pp. 1044–1050.

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Il’yasov, F.E., Morozov, M.A. & Teplov, V.A. Cytomechanics of oscillatory contractions. 1. Measuring active mechanical properties of the Physarum polycephalum plasmodial strands. BIOPHYSICS 53, 580–585 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006350908060213

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006350908060213

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