Laboratory study reveals surface membrane calcium triggering and ion dependence in Spirulina subsalsa, indicating regulation by membrane ATPase and neurochemicals.
Motility of the marine filamentous cyanobacterium Spirulina subsalsa is both Ca2+ and Na+ dependent, and replacement of Na+ by mannitol arrests it. The data presented suggest that Ca2+ interacts with sites on the surface of the cell membrane. The inhibitory effect of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) hints at the possibility that the role of Ca2+ may be associated with a membrane bound Ca‐ATPase. Motility is pH dependent, being nil at pH < 6.5 and > 10.0, with an optimum at 8.5. Norepinephrine abolishes most of the inhibitory effect of low pH on motility. Ca2+ has an “all‐or‐none” effect on motility that is triggered at 5 mM. Acetylcholine lowers the threshold of Ca2+ necessary for triggering motility.
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Abeliovich et al. (1982) studied this question.
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