The concentration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum changes in response to environmental pollution, but the concentration cannot be discerned directly. This study sought to use the galvanotaxis of P. polycephalum to estimate the concentration of ATP in P. polycephalum based on its crawling velocity. An experiment verified that the ATP concentration changed in response to an electric current, so the ATP concentration was measured at different currents. As previously reported, pH and environmental pollutants such as sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfite harm P. polycephalum and decrease its ATP concentration. Therefore, electrical stimulation was chosen for the current study as a way to increase the ATP concentration in P. polycephalum. The results from a series of experiments revealed that: (1) the crawling velocity of P. polycephalum increased as a result of its galvanotaxis, (2) the ATP concentration increased due to an increase in the amount of current, and number of times it was applied, and (3) the ATP concentration and the crawling velocity of P. polycephalum displayed a linear correlation, and the two were closely correlated. These results thus indicated that the ATP concentration in P. polycephalum changes in response to environmental pollution and that this concentration can be estimated based on the crawling velocity of P. polycephalum. Results suggested that this measurement could be used as an environmental indicator.
J-STAGEがリニューアルされました! https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/-char/ja/
