bio

Cytoplasmic streaming

The directed flow of fluid inside a cell, carrying nutrients, organelles, and signalling molecules from place to place. In fungal threads it is the main way material travels long distances: differences in turgor pressure push the fluid from a rich region (a source) toward a poor one (a sink). It works, but it crawls - roughly 5 to 40 micrometres per second, meaning a molecule takes the better part of a day to cross a single metre of forest floor.