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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Simultaneous pH Measurement in Endocytic and Cytosolic Compartments in Living Cells using Confocal Microscopy
Published on: April 28, 2014
Intracellular pH and chemoresponse to NH4+ in Paramecium
D P Davis1, J F Fiekers, J L Van Houten
1Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington 05405-0068, USA.
Abstract:
Paramecium are attracted to ammonium chloride solutions relative to sodium chloride control solutions, but little is known about the mechanisms by which attraction is evoked. A known effect of ammonium solutions in other cell types is an alteration of intracellular pH. We show here that intracellular pH is elevated upon initial exposure to 5 mM NH4Cl, but appears to decline within 10 minutes, both in wild type cells and in two mutants which do not show sustained attraction to NH4Cl using the standard behavioral assay, the T-maze. We also present quantitative values of swimming parameters that underlie the response to NH4Cl.
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