[Method of recording the linear growth and cell mass displacement of multicellular animals and plants]

A photoelectrical method has been developed of registration of the linear growth and cell mass movements in the actively zones (growing tips, edges, etc). The device proposed transforms to electrical signals the changes in lighting of microscopic visual field caused by shifting the growing structures in the area restricted by the aperture of the ocular field diaphragm of the "cat-eye" type. By means of this technique, oscillograms of growth of the number of multicellular organisms have been obtained for the first time. In many cases (blastodisc edge and tail bud of the salmon Oncorhynchus gorbusha, mantle edge of Mytilus edulis, osculum edge of the sponge Tethya, apical area of brown alga Fucus and of red algae Polyides and Ahnfeltsia), a pulsatory character of growth (with periods of some minutes) were registered. A similar growth character was also confirmed for several species of Thecaphora hydroids. No pulsations was registered during the linear growth of a brown alga Laminaria (which contrary to Fucus is growing intercalarly), of Nitella (Charophyta) and of several high plants.