Interaction between Cell Surface and Several Types of Solutes with Special Reference to the Osmotic Regulation Mechanism, in a Moderately Halophilic Strain of Chlamydomonas
✍ Scribed by Hisashi Okamoto
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1962
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 776 KB
- Volume
- 2
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0233-111X
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✦ Synopsis
It is widely accepted that the cell membrane or the protoplasmic surface is semipermeable and accordingly functions as an osmotic barrier between the interior and the exterior of the cell. The structure of this membrane is very labile and is sustained only within a limited range of change in physicochemical conditions. The molecular basis of this lability is yet t o be clarified. The cell membrane is not only the external boundary of a cell, but also a functional entity which is responsible for the active transport of materials [ l , 21. The nature of this active transport mechanism still remains obscure.
I n this paper, a n analysis of interaction between cell surface of a halophilic Chlnrnydomonas [3] and several types of solutes present in extracellular medium is reported. Evidences are presented for the existence of a n osmotic regulation mechanism which needs energy for its activity from the "metabolic dynamo" of the cell.
II. Materials and methods
Chlarnydornonas sp. employed in this experiment is a motile, unicellular green alga moderately halophilic in its salt requirement. An optimum NaCl concentration