Ref ID : 7283
Ruth Hemmersbach-Krause, Wolfgang Briegleb, Donat-P. Hader, Kurt Vogel, Dieter Grothe, and Irmin Meyer; Orientation of Paramecium under the Conditions of Weightlessness. J.Eukaryot.Microbiol. 40(4):439-446, 1993
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A cell culture of Paramecium with a precise negative gravitaxis was exposed to 4x10E-6 g during a parabolic flight of a sounding rocket for 6 min. Computer image analysis revealed that without gravity stimulus the individual swimming paths remained straight. In addition, three reactions could be distinguished. For about 30 sec, paramecia maintained the swimming direction they had before onset of low gravity. During the next 20 sec, an approximate reversal of the swimming direction occurred. This period was followed by the expected random swimming pattern. Similar behavior was observed under the condition of simulated weightlessness on a fast-rotating clinostat. Control experiments on the ground under hyper-gravity on a low-speed centrifuge microscope and on a vibration test facility proved that the observed effects were caused exclusively by the reduction of gravity.