Gravity and the Behavior of Unicellular Organisms

Comprehensive overview of sensory perception and effects in unicellular organanisms for biologists and space scientists.

Donat-Peter Häder (Author), Ruth Hemmersbach (Author), Michael Lebert (Author)

9780521820523, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 January 2005

272 pages, 100 b/w illus. 7 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.478 kg

'Häder and his colleagues have now produced an absorbing, comprehensive and thoroughly up-to-date treatise … they have produced a work that combines magisterial thoroughness (and 1000 references) with refreshing accessibility.' Biologist

Unicellular organisms use gravity as an environmental guide to reach and stay in regions optimal for their growth and reproduction. These single cells play a significant role in food webs and these factors together make the effects of gravity on unicellular organisms a fascinating and important subject for scientific study. In addition, they present valuable model systems for studying the mechanisms of gravity perception, a topic of increasing interest in these days of experimentation in space. This book reveals how single cells achieve the same sensoric capacity as multicellular organisms like plants or animals. It reviews the field, discussing the historical background, ecological significance and related physiology of unicellular organisms, as well as various experimental techniques and models with which to study them. Those working on the biology of unicellular organisms, as well as in related areas of gravitational and space science will find this book of value.

1. Introduction
2. Methods in gravitational biology
3. Image analysis
4. Fluorescence imaging
5. Ciliates
6. Flagellates
7. Other organisms
8. Responses to other stimuli
9. Energetics
10. Models for graviperception
11. Evolutionary aspects of gravisensing: from bacteria to men
12. Perspectives.

Subject Areas: Microbiology [non-medical PSG], Cellular biology [cytology PSF], Developmental biology [PSC]