Dielectric energy of orientation in dead and living cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Fitting of experimental results to a theoretical model.

Using the experimental data obtained with killed cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe (1), we have formulated a theoretical model that is able to predict cell orientation for microorganisms with ellipsoidal or cylindrical shapes as a function of the frequency of the electric field and of the conductivity of the external medium. In this model, comparison of the difference in potential energy for both orientations parallel-perpendicular with the thermal agitation energy allows one to interpret the intervals where these orientations occur. The model implies that the conductivity of the cytoplasm is slightly higher than that of the external medium. This assumption is easy to understand taking into account that not all the intracytoplasmic material is released to the exterior during cell death.