THE EFFECTS OF ETHYL ALCOHOL ON GROWTH AND RESPIRATION IN PELOMYXA CAROLINENSIS

¹ Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 8, Nebraska

1. Specimens of Pelomyxa carolinensis were exposed to various concentrations of ethyl alcohol and observations made upon their rate of growth and respiration. The following concentrations were tested: 0, 0.001 M, 0.005 M, 0.01 M, 0.05 M, 0.1 M, and 0.5 M and 1.0 M.

2. In 1.0 M (4.6%) alcohol all the organisms were dead within 24 hours. In 0.5 M (2.3%), although most of them died early, some lived for a 10-day period.

3. Growth was accelerated in 0.005 M, 0.01 M, and 0.05 M alcohol; the greatest acceleration was a 30% increase over the control in 0.005 M.

4. In the higher concentrations of alcohol (0.5 M and 0.1 M) the pelomyxae do not feed and show considerable decrease in size; the hyaline layer becomes very large.

5. Rate of respiration was found to be much greater in 0.01 M and 0.005 M alcohol than in the controls without alcohol. It was greatest in 0.01 M, especially when the organisms were put into the alcohol solution for 24 hours before the tests were run, in which case respiration was 318% greater than in the controls.