Behavioral Mutants of Paramecium Aurelia

Abstract

A Paramecium can be viewed as a eucaryotic organism capable of behavior, but it can also be regarded as a unicell comparable to excitable cells, such as hair cells, neurons, etc. in multicellular forms. The genetics of behavior in Paramecium aurelia makes use of both its organismic and cellular properties. The behavior of Paramecium directly reflects the state of the excitable membrane of the same cell with no compensation or other complication by other cells, as is possible in multicellular animals. As will appear, we succeeded in producing by mutation molecular lesions in this system of excitation. We have also begun to characterize the mutants electrophysiologically, thus raising the prospect of “dissecting” this system at a basic level and in a way which seems to be impossible or impracticable by other means.