Abstract
Swimming behavior in Tetrahymena pyriformis W was affected by calcium-function modulating compounds. Calmodulin antagonists such as phenothiazines, felodipine, clomipramine, dibucaine and W-7 induced an altered pattern of swimming: many cells swam backwards with active rotation. Normal behavior was restored after a few more minutes of incubation. The change in swimming behavior induced by the antagonists was supressed by adding EGTA. Among the calcium channel blockers tested, cinnarizine and nicardipine produced an effect similar to that of the calmodulin antagonists. A calcium ionophore, A23187, also induced the same pattern of swimming in Tetrahymena, but its effect was not suppressed by EGTA. The transient change in swimming behavior occurred in the presence of BaCl2, but unlike the case of calmodulin antagonists or A23187, the phenomenon was negated by adding CaCl2.
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