THE EFFECT OF AN ELECTRIC-FIELD ON THE RELEASE OF HEXOSAMINIDASE IN TETRAHYMENA

The activity of beta-D-hexosaminidase was detected by spectrofluorometry in the growth media of three species of Tetrahymena. The enzyme activity was about six times higher in T. pyriformis compared with the wild cells of T. thermophila, while the MS-1 mutant of T. thermophila manifested very low enzyme activity under the same experimental conditions. An electric field and electrical pulses produced significant though different increases in enzyme activity in media of wild and mutant T. thermophila. In contrast, T pyriformis responded to the field pulses by decreasing the activity of the enzymes detected in the growth media.