The effect of inhibitors of cellular respiration on self-oscillating motility in plasmodium Physarum polycephalum

Abstract

This work presents the results of spectral analysis of the time dependences, V(t), of endoplasmic shuttle motility in an isolated strand of plasmodium Physarum polycephalum that were obtained by laser Doppler microscopy after exposure to inhibitors of cellular respiration, viz., potassium cyanide and salicylhydroxamic acid, which lead to the complete cessation of endoplasmic motion. The results confirm the presence of only two harmonic components of V(t) dependences, with frequencies that differ by a factor of 2, ω₂/ω₁ = 1.972 ± 0.028, in different conditions: under normal conditions, without the addition of inhibitors; in a strand that was partially treated with inhibitors; and in the phase of restoring the oscillatory activity after the complete cessation of endoplasmic motion.