Effects of Increasing Concentration of Isoamyl Acetate on Chemoattraction of Tetrahymena

Abstract

This Research Study was conducted to determine how increasing concentrations of isoamyl acetate would affect the chemoattraction of Tetrahymena to the chemical. This is biologically relevant because isoamyl acetate is a compound produced by E. coli, a source of food for Tetrahymena. The data was obtained using a two--‐chambered system that was carved into wax on a glass slide. This method was designed and built by the researchers in this study. Data were obtained by measuring the proportion of Tetrahymena moving in and out of the chamber in which the chemoattractant was placed for 5 min. at varying concentrations. It was found that at concentrations of 0M, 10--‐6M, 10--‐5M, and 10--‐4M the proportions of Tetrahymena entering the chemoattractant chamber were 50.0 +/--‐ 1.7%, 56.7 +/--‐ 4.4%, 57.6 +/--‐ 1.5%, and 61.4 +/--‐ 5.5% respectively. Statistical analysis indicates that there is a significant difference between the control (0M) and all three experimental conditions, but there is no significant difference between experimental conditions. This tells us that Tetrahymena do indeed have an attraction to isoamyl acetate but more research, especially using lower concentrations of chemoattractant, need to be done to determine the effects of concentration on chemoattraction in Tetrahymena.