Elongation of Initially Non-Polar Protoplasts is Oriented by Electric Fields

¹ School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, N.S.W. 2006, Australia

When regenerating Mougeotia protoplasts, suspended in agar, are cultured for 20-24 h in a 7 mV/cell D.C. field, their growth axes tend to parallel the field. This may indicate either rotation of the regenerates by the field or polarization of the protoplasts and hence polarization of their microtubules which lie perpendicular to the growth axis and regulate elongation.