[Occurence of the hindgut ciliates Paraisotricha colpoidea and P. minuta (Ciliophora: Paraisotrichidae) in horses in Turkey]. / Ülkemiz Atlarinda (Equus caballus) Linnaeus, 1758 Yasayan Arka Bagirsak Siliyatlari Parasiotricha colpoidea Fiorentini, 1890 ve P. minuta Hsiung, 1930 (Ciliophora: Paraisotrichidae) Hakkinda.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the cytological features of 2 endocommensal ciliates, P. colpoidea and P. minuta belonging to genus Paraisotricha found in the hindgut of 15 Turk rahvan and 15 English and Arabic horses from Izmir, compare the morphological characters of species with their original descriptions and previous reports and discuss the similarities and differences. METHODS: The cytological features of two endocommensal ciliates were investigated with the pyridinated silver carbonate impregnation and silver nitrate impregnation techniques at the level of light microscopy. RESULTS: Specimens from our horses were found to be similar to the original descriptions on the basis of cytological features, morphological characters and biometric data. CONCLUSION: We have concluded that the geographical variation and feeding habits of the host animals are important for evaluating the biometric data of species.

[The use of endobiotic ciliates from old collections in transmission electron microscopic investigations].

The opportunity of the use of formalin-fixed endobiotic ciliates from old collections in transmission electron microscopic investigations (TEM) has been studied. Ciliates from the following species were examined: Ditoxum funinucleum Gassovsky, 1919 from the hindgut of Equus hemionus kulan Groves et Mazak, 1967 preserved in a collection during 19 years, Blepharoprosthium pireum Bundle, 1895 and Cochliatoxum periachtum Gassovsky, 1919 from the hindgut of the Yakut horse Equus caballus L. stored during 1.5 years, and Triplumaria heterofasciculata Timoshenko et Imai, 1995 from faeces of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus L. stored during 2.5 years. It is shown, that the main taxonomically important characters of the cortex ultrastructure, ciliature, and internal fibril structure of the cell of Trichostomatia keep well during a long-term storage in formalin.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the "Australian" trichostomes (Ciliophora: Litostomata).

The phylogenetic relationships of members of the ciliate class Litostomatea were determined by a molecular phylogeny using the small subunit of the ribosomal RNA (ssu-rRNA) gene and a morphological phylogeny based on ultrastructural analyses of the group. Molecular analyses consistently supported the monophyly of Trichostomatia, Entodiniomorphida and the "Australian" trichostomes but provided limited support for a monophyletic Vestibuliferida and Haptoria. The results of the morphological analyses depended on the way in which the dataset was treated: "unordered" and "ordered" recovered a monophyletic Trichostomatia, Haptoria and the "Australian" trichostomes but challenged the monophyly of Entodinimorphida and Vestibuliferida; "dollo" recovered a monophyletic Trichostomatia and Entodiniomorphida but at the cost of a greatly longer tree than either "unordered" or "ordered" datasets. The monophyly of each "Australian" trichostome family was supported in all analyses and by both approaches. These results suggest that the trichostome ciliates may have become associated with mammals in Gondwana with the "Australian" trichostome ciliates entering Australia with primitive herbivorous marsupials. Subsequent diversification of the "Australian" families was probably a result of dietary specialization and oral and cortical synapomorphies define each family. We decline at this time to erect a formal taxon name for the "Australian" trichostomes due to the instability of other superfamilial taxa within the Litosomatea and concerns about the stability of tree topology until a better taxon sample of litostome ciliates is available.

Fourteen morphotypes of Entodinium ovumrajae (Ophryoscolecidae, Entodiniomorphida) found in the Dromedary camel of Egypt.

During a survey of the ciliate protozoal composition of the stomach contents of nine dromedary camels of Egypt, fourteen morphotypes of Entodinium ovumrajae, which has been considered as a species peculiar to camels, were found in six camels. Except for five morphotypes including one originally described as an independent species and its forms, these were newly detected. These morphotypes, divided into three groups, can be identified mainly by the morphology of their ectoplasmic processes. Each camel had on average, about five morphotypes of this species.

A new polymorphic methanogen, closely related to Methanocorpusculum parvum, living in stable symbiosis within the anaerobic ciliate Trimyema sp.

A new anaerobic microbial consortium has been discovered: the partners are the ciliated protozoon Trimyema sp. and a single species of methanogen. The consortium has been maintained in culture for more than four years. Each ciliate contains up to 300 symbiotic bacteria; many are relatively small and irregularly disc-shaped, and these are distributed throughout the host's cytoplasm, whereas those which are attached to the ciliate's hydrogenosomes are significantly larger and profusely dentate. This attachment is interpreted as an adaptation to maximize capture by the bacteria of the H2 escaping from hydrogenosomes. The 16S rRNA gene of the symbionts has been partially sequenced, and fluorescent oligonucleotide probes have been constructed and used to detect the different morphotypes of the symbiont within the ciliate. The symbionts belong to a new species of archaeobacterium which is a close relative of the free-living methanogen Methanocorpusculum parvum.