Characterization of Crystals in Ciliate Paramecium bursaria Harboring Endosymbiotic Chlorella variabilis.
Curr Microbiol
; 81(9): 265, 2024 Jul 13.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39003318
ABSTRACT
Protists, including ciliates retain crystals in their cytoplasm. However, their functions and properties remain unclear. To comparatively analyze the crystals of Paramecium bursaria, a ciliate, associated with and without the endosymbiotic Chlorella variabilis, we investigated the isolated crystals using a light microscope and analyzed their length and solubility. A negligible number of crystals was found in P. bursaria cells harboring symbiotic algae. The average crystal length in alga-free and algae-reduced cells was about 6.8 µm and 14.4 µm, respectively. The crystals of alga-free cells were spherical, whereas those of algae-reduced cells were angular in shape. The crystals of alga-free cells immediately dissolved in acids and bases, but not in water or organic solvents, and were stable at - 20 °C for more than 3 weeks. This study, for the first time, reveals that the characteristics of crystals present in the cytoplasm of P. bursaria vary greatly depending on the amount of symbiotic algae.
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Paramecium
/
Simbiosis
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Chlorella
Idioma:
En
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article