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Abstract
The motile diatom, Bacillaria paxillifer (O. F. Müll.) Hendy, shows a remarkable form of gliding motility in which entire colonies rhythmically expand and contract as single units. Cultures of Bacillaria grown under an alternating light/dark regime were found to exhibit rhythms in cell motility with the majority of colonies being motile during the light periods and non-motile and aligned during the dark periods. In continuous darkness, the majority of colonies remained non-motile and aligned, showing no rhythm in cell motility. The observed rhythms were, therefore, not endogenous but may have resulted from a photokinetic response.
