Evaluation of gravity-dependent membrane potential shift in Paramecium

It is still debated whether or not gravity can stimulate unicellular organisms. This question may be settled by revealing changes in the membrane potential in a manner depending on the gravitational forces imposed on the cell. We estimated the gravity-dependent membrane potential shift to be about 1 mV G-1 for Paramecium showing gravikinesis at 1-5 G, on the basis of measurements of gravity-induced changes in active propulsion and those of propulsive velocity in solutions, in which the membrane potential has been measured electrophysiologically. The shift in membrane potential to this extent may occur from mechanoreceptive changes in K+ or Ca2+ conductance by about 1% and might be at the limit of electrophysiological measurement using membrane potential-sensitive dyes. Our measurements of propulsive velocity vs membrane potential also suggested that the reported propulsive force of Paramecium measured in a solution of graded densities with the aid of a video centrifuge microscope at 350 G was 11 times as large as that for -29 mV, i.e., the resting membrane potential at [K+]o = 1 mM and [Ca2+]o = 1 mM, and, by extrapolation, that Paramecium was hyperpolarized to -60 mV by gravity stimulation of 100-G equivalent, the value corrected by considering the reduction of density difference between the interior and exterior of the cell in the graded density solution. The estimated shift of the membrane potential from -29 mV to -60 mV by 100-G equivalent stimulation, i.e., 0.3 mV G -1, could reach the magnitude entirely feasible to be measured more directly.