Cytoplasmic streaming in characean cells: role of subcortical fibrils

Abstract

Three or four parallel fibrils of ca. 0.1 μm in width attached to each file of chloroplasts in intact internodal cells generate the motive force for cytoplasmic streaming. Experimental evidence for this conclusion is drawn from experiments in which fibrillar motion and streaming are interrupted by centrifugation, microbeam irradiation, and electrical stimulation. The role of Pb2+ in preventing cessation of cytoplasmic streaming after electrical stimulation is interpreted in terms of localized changes in viscosity of the cytoplasm.