Photon correlation analysis of cytoplasmic streaming.

Laser light scattering has been used to investigate particle movements in a plant cell. Intensity autocorrelation functions are obtained by digital photon correlation of laser light scattered from cells of Nitella opaca both during cytoplasmic streaming and during the transitory cessation of streaming induced by electrical stimulation. The average velocity computed from the periodic oscillation in the intensity autocorrelation function during streaming corresponds to the velocity estimated using light microscopy. An estimate of the distribution of streaming velocities has been obtained from the decay in the amplitude of the envelope of the autocorrelation function derived from a streaming cell.