Abstract
Marine comb jellies utilize cilia, arrays of bundled protein microtubules, for propulsion in water. Previous studies have reported on the orientation of the microtubules in steady electric and magnetic fields. Here, the effects of pulsed magnetic fields up to 2.2 Tesla on cilia fragments was investigated by examining changes in light scattering. Specifically, a comb jelly was placed in electromagnetic coils and illuminated with 472-nm laser light. Light scattering by isolated intact cilia was collected with an optical fiber and ported to a spectrophotometer. After pulsed magnetic field exposure, light scattered parallel to the field oscillated or decreased, depending on the initial cilia alignment with respect to the angle of the incident light. Changes in scattering were also detected for cilia that had been fixed with formalin and had no neural activity. Real-time observations indicated that they were caused by bending of cilia under induced electric fields, suggesting an electromechanical actuator in the comb jelly.
Highlights
Along the sea coast, colorful comb jellies, ctenophores can be observed under strong sunlight.1,2 The colored tissue of the fragile creature was recently attributed to the orderly alignment of microtubules inside its cilia.3,4 The cilia exhibit vibrational motion,5,6 and light propagating vertical to the axis of the microtubule alignment is dispersed into various colors
The neural system of the comb jelly was reported in the context of zooplankton moving autonomically in the ocean
A photograph of comb jelly cilia is shown in FIG. 1(a), while FIG. 1(b) is a time profile of the pulsed magnetic field
Summary
Colorful comb jellies, ctenophores can be observed under strong sunlight. The colored tissue of the fragile creature was recently attributed to the orderly alignment of microtubules inside its cilia. The cilia exhibit vibrational motion, and light propagating vertical to the axis of the microtubule alignment is dispersed into various colors. Colorful comb jellies, ctenophores can be observed under strong sunlight.. The colored tissue of the fragile creature was recently attributed to the orderly alignment of microtubules inside its cilia.. The cilia exhibit vibrational motion, and light propagating vertical to the axis of the microtubule alignment is dispersed into various colors. The neural system of the comb jelly was reported in the context of zooplankton moving autonomically in the ocean.. It is important to understand the response of the cilia of comb jelly to applied external electromagnetic stimuli because its transparent body allows a visible interaction of neurons with induced electric parameters. The stimulation of living systems by pulsed magnetic fields has established new biomedical applications.. A newly developed light scattering system revealed responses of cilia to pulsed magnetic fields
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
