ALBERT

Notes: SUMMARY. Saprophilus muscorum Kahl, 1931 is an edaphic species which has been identified in cultures of soil and forest litter. This ciliate has the buccal ciliary apparatus of the family Tetrahymenidae Corliss. There is only one post-oral meridian and 15 bipolar meridians, 8 of which meet ventrally at the pre-oral suture. The cilia are long and sparse and there is a prominent longer caudal cilium. Trichocysts are present. Resting or resistant cysts are formed readily.

Notes: SUMMARY. To determine whether Tetrahymena pyriformis could infect Deroceras reticulatum and become morphologically modified in the same way as the parasitic phase of T. limacis, 50 slugs were exposed for 10 days to an amicronucleate clone of T. Pyriformis and 50 were exposed for the same period of time to a micronucleate clone. The slugs were then transferred to clean containers for another 10 days, to allow ciliates which had entered the slugs either to persist and multiply or, in the case of transitory infections, to disappear. An additional 50 slugs were kept in a control group for 20 days. All of the slugs had been collected at a single locality in which natural infections by T. limacis had not been noted, and were maintained in separate one-half pint milk bottles throughout the experimental period.Of the slugs exposed to the amicronucleate clone, 40 survived to the end of the experimental period, and 15 were infected. Of those exposed to the micronucleate clone, 42 survived, and 5 were infected. Forty-three of the slugs in the control group survived, and none were infected by ciliates. In some of the slugs infected by T. pyriformis, hundreds of ciliates were noted. The infections were apparently limited to the digestive gland, intestinal tract, and fluid around the viscera. Ciliates recovered from slugs were in general smaller than those growing in thriving cultures, but morphologically were typical T. pyriformis. None were observed to have a proportionately smaller cytostome or apiculate anterior end characteristic of the parasitic phase of T. limacis.

Notes: SUMMARY. The aggregative process of Dictyostelium discoideum is unaffected by most chemical and physical alterations of the environment. Such substances as vitamins, amino acids, catabolic intermediates, purines and pyrimidines, redox poising agents, enzyme inhibitors, and inorganic salts were added to the aggregative substrate. Of these, only a few exerted any influence on aggregation except at lethal concentrations. Histidine allowed the wild-type myxamoebae to aggregate at lower population densities and accelerated the aggregative process as compared with controls on minimal agar. Brief exposure to histidine irreversibly conditioned the cells. No degradation of the imidazol skeleton was detected. A rise and fall of internal soluble histidine were demonstrable. The purine base, adenine, raised the population density required for maximal center formation.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Two methods for purifying balantidia are described. The first one may be applied to cultures which are not thriving when it is desirable to keep the purified ciliates without loss in number. Another method may be used for bulk material such as intestinal contents containing these ciliates.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A piroplasm occurring in the erythrocytes of 38 of 42 echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) has been described and named Babesia tachyglossi.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Identical cultural forms of Trypanosoma granulosae occur in NNN agar, Diamonds SNB-9 agar and Proteosepeptone blood agar. The inclusion of penicillin G sulfate and streptomycin had no effect upon the cultures. The first cultural forms to appear (24 hours) were long, slender crithidia which divided to produce short slender crithidia. The latter were the only forms encountered until the 18th day when rosettes, composed of 3–10 short, slender crithidia were found. Following the production of metacyclic trypanosomes (24th day) the culture rapidly died. Transfer of metacyclic trypanosomes and rosettes did not extend the length of culture life. T. diemyctyli is also unaffected by antibiotics and shows similar growth in all media used. Division in this species begins 50–96 hours after inoculation with the production, from the blood stream form, of two unequal, plump crithidia. These divide twice to form slender crithidia; the latter rapidly divide, but do not separate, and yield rosettes with a maximum number of 60 individuals. As the slender crithidia leave the rosette each either remains in the same form or transforms to a plump, pear shaped individual. Secondary rosettes are then formed from the latter. Metacyclic trypanosomes appear, in small numbers, after the 14th day.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. In a survey of coccidia of rodents from Harbel, Libera, the following species of Eimeria were found and described: E. musculoidei n. sp. from Mus (Leggada) musculoides; E. separata Becker & Hall, 1931 from Rattus (Dephomys) defua (new host record); E. praomysis n. sp. from Rattus (Praomys) tullbergi rostratus; E. dasymysis n. sp. from Dasymys incomptus rufulus; E. lemniscomysis n. sp. from Lemniscomys striatus striatus; and E. lophuromysis n. sp., E. sikapusii n. sp., E. liberiensis n. sp., E. harbelensis n. sp., E. africana n. sp., and E. kruidenieri n. sp. from Lophuromys sikapusi sikapusi.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. The morphology of 4 genera of the family Trypanosomatidae has been studied with particular reference to the contractile vacuole, reservoir, flagellum, undulating membrane, kinetoplast, and nucleus. Both the contractile vacuole and reservoir have been found in all species examined. Four morphological types of culture forms are described with special reference to these structures: (1), the Crithidia fasciculata type which is short and membraneless with a rounded posterior end, truncate anterior end and a well developed reservoir; (2) the Herpetomonas muscarum type with no undulating membrane, a truncate posterior end, a rounded anterior end and a reservoir which varies in length from about 1/6 of the length of the body to the full length of the body; (3) the Leishmania type with no undulating membrane, a pointed posterior end, an asymmetrical anterior end and a short reservoir which remains constant in size; and (4), the short-membraned type exemplified by Trypanosoma cruzi, with a pointed posterior end, a short reservoir near the middle of the body and the flagellum attached to the body along a portion of its length. This last form is derived from the blood stream morphology as exemplified by Trypanosoma lewisi in the rat by a shifting of the kinetoplast, flagellum, reservoir and contractile vacuole along the surface of the body from a position posterior to a position anterior to the nucleus.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Exposure to non-lethal doses of ultraviolet completely inactivates chloroplast development and chlorophyll synthesis in Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris and in the Z strain. Treatment with visible light immediately following UV reverses the inactivation completely. The presence of chloroplasts is not necessary for this inactivation since similar results are obtained with light-grown cells (containing chloroplasts) and dark-grown cells (lacking chloroplasts).

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Strains of Trypanosoma rhodesiense resistant to atoxyl and to antrypol respectively were allowed to multiply in the blood of mice and were also maintained for some hours in the gut of tsetse flies. They failed to acquire cross-resistance as shown by tests with the respective drugs given singly and in combination to infected mice.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Paramecium multimicronucleatum was grown in a buffered desiccated lettuce medium maintained at pH 7.5, with Aerobacter aerogenes the main bacterial source. The maximum expansion in length and width was at pH 6.0; the minimum expansion in length and width at pH 8.5. The paramecia were usually stouter at pH levels 〈 7.0 except at pH 5.5 and generally more slender 〉 pH 7.0.The pH of the medium affected the size of food vacuoles as indicated by the fact that the maximum food vacuolar diameter was at pH 6.0, the minimum at 7.0.The fastest and greatest expansion of food vacuole diam. was at a relative viscosity of 8; the minimum food vacuolar diam. was in controls (without gum arabic) having a viscosity of 1.3.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Trypanosoma granulosae n. sp. was found in the salamander, Taricha granulosa twittyi, from Dutch Bill Creek, Sonoma County, California. This polymorphic trypanosome has an anterior nucleus containing a definite endosome. The kinetoplast is rod-shaped and never contained within a vacuole. Myonemes are occasionally seen in slender individuals.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Balantidium coli was cultured for 4 months in Dobell-Laidlaw's medium. About 10 specimens of monsters were found in the preparations (Chatton-Lwoff silver impregnation technique). One individual showed a tendency to polystomy. One doublet of Balantidium caviae (?) in preparations treated by the same technique was found in a population from a guinea pig.The monsters of Balantidium coli are either single distomic individuals or doublets (homopolar or heteropolar).The infraciliature of the monsters shows different degrees of deviation from the normal pattern. No reorganization field during the formation of additional cytostomes was observed, which agrees with the data on normal stomatogenesis. This process is very similar in both normal specimens and monsters and is characterized by the arrangement of radiating kineties surrounding the anlage of the cytostome and, evidently, by invagination of this area which later forms the peristome. The fate of single monsters and that of homopelar doublets is unknown. The heteropolar monsters are considered non-viable because the arrangement of the kineties in both presumptive daughters contradicts the rule of desmodexy (Chatton-Lwoff).The occurrence of the monsters in cultures may possibly be explained by the action of acriflavine which is mutagenic for Escherichia coli, or by gentian-violet which inhibits fission of sea urchin eggs.This paper apparently constitutes the first presentation of anomalies of the infraciliature in parasitic ciliates.In addition the exact arrangement of the kineties and kinetosomes at the posterior pole of Balantidium coli is described.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A nonpathogenic strain of Histomonas was used in an attempt to immunize young turkeys against blackhead. Rectal inoculation of several thousand nonpathogenic histomonads on 2 or 3 consecutive days afforded considerable protection against modest rectal challenges with pathogenic histomonads 3 to 6 weeks later, but was much less effective against pathogenic histomonads introduced by feeding eggs of Heterakis gallinae. It is believed that an immune barrier limited to the surface of the cecal mucosa was established, and that the larvae of the cecal worms often penetrated this barrier before liberating their histomonads, thus permitting blackhead to develop. Immunization by the introduction of nonpathogenic histomonads with Heterakis eggs was not satisfactory. Apparently, the nonpathogenic organisms introduced in this way were too few to assure formation of an intact barrier.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Podophrya collini was fed homozygous killer Paramecium aurelia (containing kappa particles DNA). The rate of giant formation in the suctorian population was then determined; controls were fed homozygous sensitive P. aurelia. No difference in the rate of giant formation was observed; the DNA contribution by the kappa particles was not enough to induce a higher rate of giant formation. Cultures of P. collini containing only animals of known uniform age were then fed controlled numbers of Tetrahymena pyriformis or sensitive P. aurelia after these ciliates had been pretreated with guanylic acid, 8-azaguanine, commercial DNA or DNA isolated from Tetrahymena. Giant formation was increased after guanylic acid pretreatment, reduced after the 8-azaguanine pretreatment, and unaffected after DNA pretreatment over a 5-day test period. The changes in rate of giant formation are clearly caused by pretreatment agents. These agents reach the suctorian's metabolism via the food ciliates' food vacuoles before they are altered in the food vacuole.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Polytomella caeca utilizes as sole carbon sources in chemically defined media: acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, pyruvate, succinate, ethyl, butyl, amyl, and hexyl alcohols. Glyceraldehyde and α-ketoglutarate sustain very small populations. Caproate, caprylate, fumarate, malate, propyl, heptyl, and octyl alcohols and the iso-compounds iso-butyrate, iso-butyl and iso-hexyl alcohols are inadequate.Acetate is not assimilated 〈pH 5.0, propionate and butyrate 〈pH 6.0, and valerate 〈pH 7.0. Optimum for utilization of succinate is pH 3.0, for pyruvate pH 4.0, utilized also at pH 2.0 Fatty acids are utilized dissociated; succinate and pyruvate are utilized undissociated. Alcohols are assimilated throughout pH 4.0–7.4, except hexanol at pH 7.4. Alcohol availability is proportional to molecular length-1.pH after growth of fatty acid media is 8.4 ± 0.4; stable in pH 2.0 pyruvate and pH 3.0 succinate media; 3.5 ± 0.3 in alcohol media with initial pH 〈6.0. Longer alcohols cause less pH decrease during growth.Acetate concentrations 〈0.2% do not support maximum populations; concentrations of 0.2–1.0% do. pH after growth increases in these media to pH 8.5 with maximum populations.Malate, fumarate, α-ketoglutarate, and lactate seem not to penetrate the cell, but are metabolized by homogenates. Methylene blue reduction by homogenates indicates the presence of lactic, malic, succinic and α-ketoglutaric dehydrogenases, fumarase and glutamic transaminase. Extracts contain Embden-Meyerhof phosphate esters, ATP, and ADP.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. An immunity to reinfection with E. bovis was demonstrated in 3 experiments involving 60 calves. This immunity develops rapidly, as indicated by resistance to a challenge given 14 days after the immunizing inoculation. In 3 groups of 3 to 6 young calves each, immunity was still present to a moderate degree 2 to 3 months after inoculation; in one group of 5 animals about a year old there was apparently a high degree of immunity about 7 months after the last inoculation. In one experiment an immunizing inoculum of 10,000 oöcysts did not produce as much immunity as 50,000 oöcysts. In 2 experiments there appeared to be little difference in the immunity produced by a single inoculation of 50,000 as compared with 100,000 oöcysts, but inoculation with 100,000 oöcysts, resulted in substantially longer and more severe illness than 50,000 oöcysts. There appeared to be no appreciable difference in clinical symptoms or development of immunity between calves given a single immunizing inoculum and those given the same number of oöcysts in 5 equal inocula on successive days. Treatment with sulfamethazine and sulfamerazine (Merameth) 13 to 15 days after inoculation alleviated the clinical symptoms of coccidiosis without interfering appreciably with the development of immunity. In one experiment with 7 calves, no beneficial effect was noted from 1 or 2 transfusions of 500 ml. of plasma and leucocytes from immune calves into 4 calves 1 and 12 days or 11 days after a challenge inoculation.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Experiments were carried out to determine if the course of infection with Plasmodium cathemerium was changed when the temperature of incubation of the duck embryo host was lowered. At 30° C. the infection developed more slowly and never reached the peak seen in infected embryos incubated at 37° C. If infected embryos at 30° were returned to 37° C. the resultant parasitemia developed similarly to that usually seen in this host at the latter temperature. Studies of the periodic behavior of the parasite at 30° C. and 38° C. revealed no differences in the time of segmentation. Merozoite counts were unchanged. The reduced parasitemia in embryos at 30° C. may result from reduced ability of the parasite to penetrate new host cells.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. California ground squirrels (Citellus beecheyi) were found to be infected with trypa-nosomes whose most striking morphological features are an unusually large kinetoplast and a long, tapering posterior end. The total length is 25.2 μ, and body length is 18.0 μ. This “lewisi”-type species is compared with other trypanosomes reported from American ground squirrels, but a specific diagnosis is not made because the life cycle has not been observed and because morphological features of trypanosomes are known to vary widely under differing environmental conditions.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. The basal apparatus of the flagella and kinetoplast in Leishmania donovani have been studied with the electron microscope. The flagellar fibrils extend into the body of the protozoan to form the kinetosome. At the point of origin of the flagellum, the pellicle invaginates to form a kinetosomal vacuole around the kinetosome. The kinetoplast is formed by a transversely elongated banded structure, surrounded at some distance by a double layered kinetoplast membrane. There is no apparent connection between the kinetosome and the kinetoplast.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Starvation of Isotricha prostoma for 72–96 hours decreased the cellular amylopectin granules and facilitated the microscopic search for bacterial feeding. I. prostoma selected and ingested only certain rods from among many types of rumen bacteria. In order to isolate the bacteria important as a food source for Isotricha, the starved protozoa were allowed to feed on mixed rumen bacteria, washed, and the crushed protozoan contents quickly cultured for bacteria. Several strains of bacteria were isolated in pure culture. Three of the rod strains isolated were rapidly ingested by I. prostoma when fed to the ciliate. In a monobacterial culture I. prostoma divided once before succumbing.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Cultures of Trypanosoma theileri were obtained at 36° and at 37.5°C. in a blood-lysate medium inoculated with blood from three dairy cows showing subnormal milk production. The organisms were first seen after 4 days in the first subculture, reached a maximum number of about 500,000 per ml. on the 4th day of the second subculture, and attained about this same number on the 4th day of subsequent transfers. Crithidial forms predominated but trypanosomes of the blood-stream type were also numerous. Cultures were not obtained from cows with normal milk production. The infected cows, although free from helminth parasites, showed a marked eosinophilia.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A new species of Paramecium, P. jenningsi, n. sp., from South India, is described. It is like P. aurelia except that nuclei are larger, the cell size is somewhat larger, and the macronuclear anlagen (“placentae”) have long-persisting chromatinic centers.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. The nutritional requirements of 3 isolates of Prymnesium parvum (2 Israeli, 1 Scottish) included vitamin B12 and thiamine. For comparison, 2 other brackish chrysomonads were studied: Monochrysis lutheri isolated by Droop in Scotland and Isochrysis galbana purified by McLaughlin from a culture obtained from the Plymouth laboratory.The isolates of Prymnesium parvum and Isochrysis galbana had a molecular B12 specificity like Ochromonas malhamensis: no response to Factor B, pseudovitamin B12, Factor A or Factor H. M. lutheri, in contrast, responded to pseudovitamin B12, Factor H, and Factor A.Thiamine was essential; 1.0 μg.% allowed full growth of P. parvum. The NaCl concentration for good growth was 0.3–5.0%; growth was possible from 6–12%. Dark growth was not achieved.Ammonia, as suggested from its use in suppressing outbreaks of P. parvum, was sharply inhibitory, less so at high concentrations of NaCl or at acid pH.Nitrate, ammonia, arginine, asparagine, methionine, histidine, alanine, glycine, serine, proline, leucine, isoleucine, tyrosine, aspartic and glutamic acids, acetylurea, and creatine served as nitrogen sources in both acid and alkaline media.The phosphate requirement of P. parvum and M. lutheri and Isochrysis galbana was satisfied by inorganic phosphate, commercial glycerophosphate, yeast adenylic acid, cytidylic acid, monoethyl phosphate, and riboflavin monophosphate.Laboratory cultures in defined media of the isolates of P. parvum were toxigenic to Lebistes and Gambusia. Culture fluids from alkaline media were more toxic than those from acid media, as previously noted in Israel.Culture media suitable for production of large quantities of these organisms were developed.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Certain aspects of the metabolism of a Trichomonas batrachorum-type flagellate from the cecum of swine were studied. This trichomonad (1) oxidized glucose, mannose, maltose, sucrose, and inulin, (2) was incapable of oxidizing Krebs' cycle intermediates, (3) possessed peroxide-splitting capabilities, (4) was inhibited by only iodoacetate and arsenite, and (5) formed acid(s) aerobically. Although there was no effect on oxygen uptake, pyruvate and lactate increased the anaerobic evolution of gas(es). In addition to CO2, other gas, not absorbed by KOH, was produced anaerobically.Compared with other porcine trichomonads, the metabolism of this small trichomonad resembles most closely that of the large cecal trichomonad, T. suis. However, the smaller trichomonad had a generally lower respiratory rate, a slightly lower optimal pH, and failed to oxidize fructose, galactose, lactose, raffinose, and trehalose.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. The “dry” silver method is redescribed with special attention to the possible difficulties encountered in its use. This method first revealed the silverline or neuroformative system of the ciliates, and is considered the best method for the demonstration of this structure. The valuable results obtainable with this technique are pointed out and illustrated with appropriate photomicrographs.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. It has been assumed by others that green euglenas and derived bleached forms are physiologically equivalent except for chlorophyll and plastids. Some workers, however, have remarked upon differences which might depend on the mode of bleaching.Several hitherto undescribed chlorotic substrains of E. gracilis var. bacillaris were examined for pigment alteration, growth under a variety of conditions, and ability to withstand high temperature. These studies indicated physiological variation in the different chlorotic substrains. Although all were apparently chlorophyll-less and aplastidic, only one seemed completely achromatic. The carotenoid content of others varied. Metabolic changes manifested by altered pigmentation may reflect enzymatic variation caused by the chlorosis-inducing agents.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Thin sections of Amoeba proteus, fixed in osmium tetroxide and embedded in methacrylate, were examined in the electron microscope. The fine structure of various protoplasmic components is described. The plasmalemma, or cell membrane, varies in thickness and structure. These variations may be due to variations in physiological state, or they may be due to differences in preparation. Along its cytoplasmic edge is always present a definite line approximately 0.01 to 0.02 μ thick. The mitochondria, or beta granules, exhibit a structure similar to that of the mitochondria of several other protozoa and comparable to that of the mitochondria of other animals. In definite association with the membrane of the food vacuole are dense, rounded particles which in size are below the limit of resolution of the light microscope. Such dense particles are much less frequently present in the hyaloplasm and in association with the plasmalemma. A possible relationship to the neutral red granules associated with food vacuoles of Paramecium is suggested. The contractile vacuole possesses a thin membrane surrounded by a much thicker circum-vacuolar zone of irregular strands which may form a three-dimensional network around the membrane. This may represent the contractile element of the vacuole. A single layer of mitochondria is closely apposed to the circum-vacuolar zone. Many small vacuoles and irregular vesicles are present throughout the cytoplasm. At times there occur groups of small, thin-walled vesicles, which may correspond to an endoplasmic reticulum. The nuclear envelope consists of a thick inner porous layer and a thinner outer layer that is continuous yet is marked by the presence of numerous small annuli, each apparently surrounding a pore. In its structure, this outer layer appears to correspond to the entire nuclear envelope of many other cell forms.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Irradiation of Stentor coeruleus with Xray doses of 150–300 kr inhibited growth in size and fission. The irradiation also led to the development of structural abnormalities, which appeared about a day after irradiation. The inhibition of growth and fission was independent of the oxygen concentration during irradiation, but the abnormalities were produced at lower doses in nitrogen than in air. Regeneration of parts removed by cutting occurred even at the highest doses at essentially normal rate even during the period when over-all growth was completely inhibited. The conclusion is drawn that delay in fission by radiation is a secondary consequence of inhibition of growth and not a consequence of blocks in the specific morphogenetic processes required for division.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A description is given of the formation of an unusual type of achromatic figure by two very long, narrow centrioles. The unique manner in which this structure functions in chromosomal movement is explained.

Notes: SUMMARY. In water taken March 3, 1956, from a tributary of the Amazon River, near Leticia, Colombia, an abundant ciliate fauna included large numbers of a species of Euplotes. Cursory examination showed a pronounced left wing like that of E. novemcarinatus Wang. Careful study, however, revealed a distribution of peristomal membranelles and peristomal morphology more like that of E. euryostomus Wrzesniowski. The positions of ventral cirri resemble those of E. woodruffi Gaw. The two right caudal cirri are furcated, as are those of the first two above-mentioned species; but the five anal cirri are not. The C-shaped macronucleus, like that of E. aediculatus Pierson, has the upper left part of the “C” somewhat depressed. A large organism, it averages 155 μ long by 130 μ broad, length ranging from 87 μ to 203 μ, and width from 67 μ to 194 μ. It is presented as Euplotes leticiensis n. sp.

Notes: SUMMARY. Following a brief historical review and critique of the main theories of amoeboid movement, the recent work of Goldacre and Lorch, relating plasmagel contraction to the folding and unfolding of protein molecules, is discussed; and some new observations are presented concerning the behavior of the plasmagel in amoebae vitally stained with neutral red. Similarities between contraction of vertebrate muscle and amoeba plasmagel are discussed, and a summary of recent work suggesting that adenosine triphosphate and actomyosin-like proteins may be involved in amoeboid movement is given. A re-examination of the meaning of the terms plasmagel and plasmasol indicates their relative nature denoting only comparative degrees of viscosity. Recent observations as to the nature of the plasmalemma are reviewed, and evidence is presented for the existence of an external slime layer in Amoeba proteus (not in all amoebae), which slides over the visible pellicle carrying adherent foreign particles forward from the precaudal region. The inadequacy of the contracting gel tube theory for explaining many types of protoplasmic streaming is pointed out.

Notes: SUMMARY. Tillina magna is a large holotrichous ciliate, of the family Colpodidae, which normally forms resting cysts. These cysts, when formed in their natural environment, withstand drying. Active animals have been excysted from dirt collected more than 10 years ago. However, until recently, laboratory work on these, as well as on most other ciliate cysts, has been done on wet cysts. A method is described for producing viable dry cysts under laboratory conditions. It consists essentially of inducing the tillinas to encyst on prepared sections of grass stems. In this way dry cysts have been formed which are viable up to 4 months. These cysts, when first formed, can be activated simply by the addition of water. Cysts which are no longer responsive to water alone may sometimes be induced to excyst by the addition of lettuce infusion. Cysts withstand extremes of temperature from -5°C. to 45°C. These facts have some bearing on the question of the factor or factors causing excystment.

Notes: SUMMARY. A study has been made of the number and morphology of the chromosomes of five species of malarial parasites as seen in living material with phase contrast microscopy. Plasmodium knowlesi, of monkeys, is essentially similar to other primate malarial parasites previously studied, having two chromosomes of unequal length. P. lophurae, from ducks, P. relictum from pigeons and sparrows, and P. floridense from a lizard all have two small chromosomes of equal size. These facts, with ether data, indicate that the genus may consist of two species complexes. P. berghei, studied in white mice and rats, has a karyotype similar to the avian and saurian malarial parasites. The suggestion is made that P. berghei, on a basis of chromosome pattern and other characteristics, is probably more closely related to the avian and saurian species of Plasmodium than to other mammalian species.

Notes: SUMMARY. The adaptation to fatty acids by Polytoma depends upon two mechanisms: 1. The induced synthesis of fatty acid oxidase which precedes growth. 2. A long-term physiological adaptation spanning several cell generations which results in an increase of the initial rate of growth.Analysis of the long-term adaptation shows that the adaptation does not result from the selection of fast-growing mutants. The generation time on butyrate of unadapted cells is initially ca. 24 hours and it is reduced to ca. 10 hours after the second subculture in butyrate medium. Adaptation to butyrate results in a simultaneous adaptation to caproate.

Notes: SUMMARY. A survey of protozoa in four water samples from Colombia, South America, yielded 84 species identifiable to genus or to species. Three of the collections were from the Amazon River and a tributary in the vicinity of Leticia, at the southern tip of the country. The fourth was taken near the high Andean town of Medellin in central Colombia.All four subphyla are represented. Forty ciliophorans, 26 mastigophorans, 17-sarcodinians, and one sporozoan are included. Of the ciliophorans all but one are euciliates in three orders. The exception is a suctorean. Two classes, and six orders of mastigophorans are represented; one class, and two orders of sarcodinians; and one class, one subclass, and one order of sporozoans. Eleven suborders, 33 families, and 49 genera are exemplified.Other protozoa seen, but not identified to generic or specific accuracy, are omitted.

Notes: SUMMARY. The division cycle was followed in four strains of Blepharisma undulans. Animals were fixed and stained at regular intervals from the end of one division through completion of the next.A comparative study of the present findings and those in the literature shows that in all strains in which the macronucleus is nodulated there is a similarity in the events that occur during division. These include a loss of some of the chromatin material, a fusion of macronuclear nodes into two masses, and a subsequent fusion of these two masses into one large, centrally located mass. This, in turn, elongates and divides into two daughter nuclei which either are nodulated at the time of separation or become so shortly after the division into daughter nuclei.Great variation exists, among different strains, in the number of macronuclear nodes present. This fact, coupled with knowledge of nuclear morphogenesis during the division cycle, renders macronuclear form of little taxonomic value at infrageneric levels.

Notes: SUMMARY. A rich source of supply of Pelomyxa palustris has recently been found. The findings and views of previous investigators on the geographical and seasonal distribution, longevity in the laboratory and reproduction of this organism are reviewed and discussed. Clone and mass cultures were successfully obtained in Carrel flasks with Spirogyra as food. Feeding is an extremely slow process so that this Pelomyxa is incapable of capturing and ingesting actively motile organisms under ordinary circumstances. Multiplication is solely by simple or multiple plasmotomy.

Notes: SUMMARY. Some of the unusual types of sexual behavior in Trichonympha are considered: cytoplasmic incompatibility of gametes as shown in the fertilization process, pronuclear incompatibility, independence of pronuclear and cytoplasmic incompatibilities, loss of extranuclear organelles of male gamete, the formation of gametes with no chromosomes, those with the diploid number, and those with numbers between these extremes.

Notes: SUMMARY. The various sexual processes in each of ten genera of protozoa of Cryptocercus have been correlated with the molting period of their host in days beginning with 50 days before ecdysis and ending 3 days after ecdysis. Some genera begin the gametogenesis portion of their sexual cycle much earlier in the molting period than others. Gametogenesis in some genera is haploid, in others it is diploid; in some it is a short process, requiring only a few hours for completion; in others it requires several days for completion. Not counting Leptospironympka and Macrospironympha, meiosis occurs after ecdysis in 6 genera and before in two. The fertilization process in some genera is too involved to make possible a simple summary. The time when gametogenesis, fertilization, and meiosis occur in the molting period of the host seems to be determined by the nature of the various genera of protozoan parasites themselves rather than by their host, although the host, in each case, is always responsible for the initiation of the sexual process as well as for carrying it to completion.

Notes: SUMMARY. A small soil amoeba was purified by an agar-surface migration method. The amoeba was grown axenicly in a liquid medium composed of 1% proteose peptone, 1% glucose, and inorganic salts. The amoeba was identified as a species of Acanthamoeba. A hypothesis on the mechanism of agar-surface purification of amoebæ is proposed. The nutritional requirements of this isolate are discussed; it is concluded that this organism metabolizes glucose.

Notes: SUMMARY. An electron microscope study of thin sections of duck erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium lophurae revealed that the so-called “residual body” is a food vacuole formed by invagination from the cytoplasm of the host cell. Several such food vacuoles may exist in a single parasite. Digestion of hemoglobin evidently proceeds only within these food vacuoles, since they are the only place in the parasite where the characteristic malarial pigment granules may be found. This finding changes the role ascribed to the residual body and gives a new concept of the feeding mechanisms in P. lophurae and other malaria parasites. The cytoplasm of the host is taken in by the parasite by phagotrophy and not only as previously assumed, by diffusion.The fine structure of P. lophurae shows all major components found in other protozoan and metazoan cells. Some of the organelles appear to have a much simpler structure connected probably with the highly specialized intracellular parasitic life.

Notes: SUMMARY. Transfers of Euglena gracilis to fresh media gave rise to increased volumes of the flagellates, the magnitude of expansion varying with temperature, pH, osmotic pressure, and number of nutritional particles in the medium. Expansion was accompanied by decreased protoplasmic density and increased intracellular solids and water. When the population density of the flagellates was more than optimal, competition for substrates was reflected in reduced maximum volume. Below the optimal range, a similar decrease in maximum volume was observed.

Notes: SUMMARY. A ciliate found in the renal organ of the gray garden slug, Deroceras reticulatum, is referred to Tetrahymena (Paraglaucoma) rostrata (Kahl). In the parasitic phase, the ciliate is evidently not histiophagic. It is readily cultivated in bacterized tissue infusions, and has been established in axenic culture in yeast extract.The number of complete primary ciliary meridians in ciliates of the parasitic phase has been observed to range from 41 to 58; in ciliates from cultures, the number of meridians has been observed to range from 28 to 37. In culture, the form of T. rostrata from D. reticulatum appears to be morphologically identical with a strain (NZ-4) recovered from soil in New Zealand.

Notes: SUMMARY. In a survey of 52 rodents of 25 species from Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona and its vicinity, the following species of Eimeria are described: E. tamiasciuri n. sp. from the red or spruce squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus; E. lateralis n. sp. and Eimeria sp. from the mantled ground squirrel, Citellus lateralis; E. eutamiae n. sp. from the cliff chipmunk, Eutamias dorsalis; E. thomomysis n. sp. from the pocket gopher, Thomomys bottae; E. perognathi n. sp. from the rock pocket mouse, Perognathus intermedius; E. albigulae n. sp. from the white-throated woodrat, Neotoma albigula; E. operculata n. sp. from Stephens' woodrat, Neotoma stephensi; E. peromysci n. sp. and E. arizonensis n. sp. from the piñon mouse, Peromyscus truei; E. eremici n. sp. from the cactus mouse, Peromyscus eremicus; and E. onychomysis n. sp. from the northern grasshopper mouse, Onychomys leucogaster.

Notes: SUMMARY. The central canal of the suctorial tentacle of Ephelota is limited by a fine pellicle composed of numerous longitudinal fibrils and bearing 16–18 membrano-fibrillar ridges arranged radially in the lumen of the canal. This structure resembles that of the myonemes in the heterotrichous ciliate Stentor.The prehensile tentacle of Ephelota contains 4–6 axial protein fibers each consisting of a lamello-fibrillar bundle and isolated from one another by thin intracytoplasmic membranes.In both types of tentacle the cytoplasmic portion is immediately limited by a very thin pellicle which is continuous with the “epiplasmic membrane” and covered by the alveolar cuticle which envelops the entire body of the ciliate.

Notes: SUMMARY. A medium is described for the axenic culture of Paramecium multimicronucleatum which is chemically defined except for one constituent—a nondialyzable fraction (NDF) of an exhaustively dialyzed yeast extract. Using this medium it has been possible to demonstrate an absolute requirement for stigmasterol and the following B-vitamins: folic acid, riboflavin, thiamine and pantothenic acid. There was evidence that nicotinamide and pyridoxal are also required for continued growth of the organisms. The nitrogen requirements could be met with any of the following: proteose peptone, purified casein, crystalline ovalbumin, or a mixture of amino acids. A carbon source, in addition to that supplied by the NDF or the amino acids, was essential. Sodium acetate and sodium pyruvate would satisfy this requirement.

Notes: SUMMARY. Pleurotricha lanceolata was cultured in an aqueous extract of Cerophyl with Tetrahymena sp. as the primary food organism. It was induced to form resting cysts by crowding in the absence of food in a modified Osterhout solution. Cysts formed in this medium remained viable for several months.The morphology of the cysts and of animals undergoing excystment was studied both in the living state and in stained preparations. The excystment process was recorded by camera lucida drawings. These studies revealed no endomictic nuclear reorganization, and no extrusion of nuclear material as had been previously reported.An analysis of certain chemical and physical factors which affect excystment showed the following: the rate of excystment is temperature controlled; increasing the pH of the excystment medium increases the time required for excystment; in low concentrations some aqueous plant extracts are effective excysting agents; dilute solutions of certain plant acid mixtures neutralized with KOH are likewise effective; a number of organic substances, e.g., Bacto-yeast extract and Bacto-peptone, are also effective; and the presence of bacteria retards the rate of excystment.

Notes: SUMMARY. Measurements of the length and width of a total of 6,915 unsporulated oocysts of Eimeria necatrix from 11 infected chickens revealed a length range of 12.1-28.9 μ, width range of 10.8-23.8 μ, and a shape-index (length/width) range of 1.0-1.64. The average size range of the samples of 25-100 oocysts (mean, 66 oocysts) constituting this total and taken on the various days of the patent periods was 15.6–23.9 μ× 13.9–19.5 μ. The lengths, widths and shape indexes of the oocysts constituting such samples usually described unimodal, near-normal frequency distribution curves.The average size of oocysts issuing from an average chicken on an average day of the patent period of the infection was, with standard deviations, 19.7 ± 1.82 μ× 16.7 ± 1.20 μ. The average standard errors for the length and width were 0.237 μ and 0.158 μ, respectively, in samples of the size indicated. A tendency to increase slightly, though significantly, in size after the first three days of the patent period was noted; also, a slight, though significant, linear increase from the first to the seventh day, inclusive. A slight, though significant, tendency to shorten with the passing of the days of the patent period was detected.Analysis of variance revealed much variation in oocyst size from bird to bird on a given day and for given bird and day combinations, but significant day to day variation was demonstrated for width only. By splitting the variance during the first seven days of the patent period into its parts, it was determined that the mean oocyst size during this period was, with standard errors, 19.59 ± 0.238 μ× 16.63 ± 0.200 μ. Further analysis disclosed that a considerable reduction in oocysts measured could be accomplished, with no loss of accuracy, if fewer measurements were taken per bird and more birds were employed.

Notes: SUMMARY. Spirobutschliella clignyi, which occurs in the intestine of Pomatoceros triqueter, was found in numbers ranging from 1 to 98 in about 45% of the host specimens examined at Drøbak. Comparative incidence of infection in closely neighboring host specimens suggests that migration of normal sized ciliates is not the main route of infection. The distribution of dwarf ciliates indicates the possibility of their being involved in transmission. The general morphology and the absence of skeletal structures would seem to permit inclusion of the species in the family Anoplophryidae.

Notes: SUMMARY. Three enzymes of the glycolytic pathway, hitherto not identified in Trichomonas vaginalis, have been studied: phosphoglucomutasse, α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, and lactic dehydrogenase.The identification of seven phosphorylated glycolytic intermediates is reported.The operation of glycolysis in T. vaginalis is postulated from enzymatic as well as chemical studies.

Notes: SUMMARY. Sodium pyruvate, glutathione, potassium cyanide, dextrose, sucrose, 3 nucleic acid derivatives, 11 B-vitamins, and 22 amino acids were tested for their ability to protect Astasia longa against the lethal damage induced by ultraviolet radiation. Compounds which protected when added to a cell suspension just before irradiation were cystine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, adenine, cytidylic acid, uracil, and sodium pyruvate. None of these compounds protected when added immediately after irradiation. Except for phenylalanine, solutions of these compounds afforded protection when used as filters between the ultraviolet source and the flagellates. Cysteine failed to protect when added just before irradiation, but gave good protection when cells were grown in its presence.

Notes: SUMMARY. The number of complete primary ciliary meridians in Tetrahymena limacis found in natural infections in the slug Deroceras reticulatum has been observed to range from 32 to 40. To study the range in the number of meridians in clones in culture, 10 ciliates were pipetted singly from each of two natural infections into sterile 1% (w/v) yeast extract to which 400 units of potassium penicillin-G and 500 micrograms of dihydrostreptomycin sulfate per ml. had been added aseptically. Ten ciliates were also pipetted from each of these natural infections into infusions of tissue of the digestive gland of D. reticulatum. Altogether, 28 clones (13 axenic clones in yeast extract and 15 bacterized clones in tissue infusions) were established.The shape of ciliates in thriving axenic cultures is generally ovoid or pyriform, and similar to that of ciliates in bacterized cultures. However, ciliates in axenic cultures are sharply apiculate at the anterior end and free from inclusions other than small lipoid granules, and in these respects resemble ciliates of the parasitic phase. The cytostome of ciliates in bacterized and axenic cultures is larger in proportion to the size of the body than it is in the parasitic phase.The ranges in the number of ciliary meridians in ciliates of the two natural infections from which the clones were established were 33 to 40 and 32 to 38, whereas the number of meridians in the clones taken as a whole ranged from 25 to 32. Fifteen of the clones showed extremes of 26 and 30.One of the clones was re-introduced into D. reticulatum by exposing 50 slugs to a culture of the ciliates for 10 days. The slugs were then transferred to clean containers for another 10 days. Forty-one of the slugs exposed to ciliates survived the experimental period, and 32 became infected by T. limacis. Forty-four of 50 slugs in an unexposed control group survived, and none were infected by ciliates. In the ciliates from slugs of the experimental series, the number of complete primary meridians ranged from 28 to 36. However, more than half of the ciliates in the experimental infections possessed incomplete rows, and some individuals had as many as five of these. Ciliates in natural infections and in cultures sometimes have incomplete rows, but rarely show more than one such row. The incomplete rows in ciliates re-introduced into slugs are considered largely to be incipient segments of future complete rows. They occur most commonly in the post-oral region, and particularly between row 1 (the so-called stomatogenous meridian) and the next complete row to the observer's right. It appears, therefore, that the post-oral region is a zone in which most new rows are proliferated.

Notes: SUMMARY. Manometric and culture experiments were designed to study factors influencing the metabolism of Trichonympha from Zootermopsis. A starvation period of 36–44 hours for the termites lowered the endogenous metabolism of Trichonympha and made possible the testing of substrates in the Warburg apparatus. In the presence of antibiotics, cellulose and cellobiose were utilized at approximately the same rate by the protozoa. Yeast extract stimulated cellulose fermentation in Trichonympha from starved termites, but the effect could not be demonstrated in protozoa from recently fed termites. Yeast extract, blood serum, and liver fractions improved the survival of the flagellates in anaerobic cultures.

Notes: SUMMARY. The peduncle of the chonotrichous ciliate Chilodochona is composed of a bundle of protein fibers secreted by intracytoplasmic glandular ampullae. This process, very different from that involved in production of the peduncle in the peritrichous ciliates, also is found, although with a simpler result, among the Dysteriidae, a highly evolved family of gymnostomes closely related to the chonotrichs.

Notes: SUMMARY. A new actinomyxid, Triactinomyxon naidanum, distinguished from other members of the genus by having 12 sporoplasms, is described from the intestine of an Indian fresh-water oligochaete, Nais communis punjabensis. This is the first finding of an actinomyxid in Asia and also the first finding in a member of the family Naididae.

Notes: SUMMARY. A new species of Tetrahymena is described, the ninth to be allocated to this genus. Most significant morphologically and taxonomically is its possession of a single, slender caudal cilium, twice the length of the surrounding somatic ciliature. The presence of this inconspicuous organelle, quite novel to the genus, is also detectable in the infraciliature where an argentophilic “polar basal granule-complex” appears exactly at the posterior pole of the body. The diagnosis of the genus Tetrahymena is expanded to embrace species with such a caudal appendage.

Notes: SUMMARY. Ciliates referable to Tetrahymena limacis have been found in two native terrestrial pulmonates, Monadenia fidelis (Helicidae) and Prophysaon andersoni (Arionidae), collected in Oregon. The number of complete primary meridians in ciliates in natural infections in M. fidelis has been observed to range from 26 to 32, and the number in ciliates in P. andersoni has been observed to range from 37 to 41. T. limacis from the European Deroceras reticulatum (Limacidae) has shown a range of 32 to 40 meridians. From 20 ciliates pipetted from a single natural infection in M. fidelis into either 1% (w/v) yeast extract (with antibiotics) or an infusion of digestive gland tissue, 16 clones were established successfully. The range in the number of meridians in these cultured ciliates was 24 to 29; eight clones showed a range of 24 to 28. Sixteen clones established in the same way from ciliates taken from P. andersoni showed a range of 26 to 32 meridians; ten clones had a range of 27 to 31. The range in the number of meridians observed in earlier studies of 28 clones established from ciliates from two natural infections in D. reticulatum was 25 to 32.To determine whether the ciliates from the native pulmonates have a strong host specificity, 50 D. reticulatum were exposed for 10 days to a clone derived from M. fidelis, and 50 were exposed to a clone from P. andersoni. For comparative purposes, 50 slugs were exposed to a clone derived from D. reticulatum. An additional 50 slugs were maintained in a control group. Ten days after the end of the period of exposure, all of the surviving controls (47) and 25 of the slugs in each group exposed to ciliates were examined for infections. The remainder of the surviving slugs in each group were examined 20 days after the period of exposure. Successful experimental infections were noted in each of the groups of slugs exposed to the three clones, and the ciliates in the infections were typical of the parasitic phase of T. limacis. None of the slugs in the control group were infected. Ten days after the period of exposure, the range in the number of complete primary meridians noted in the experimental infections, taken as a whole, by ciliates of the clones from M. fidelis, P. andersoni, and D. reticulatum were, respectively, 26 to 33, 26 to 37, and 29 to 37. The ranges for ciliates in infections by these same clones 20 days alter the period of exposure were 26 to 33, 29 to 37, and 28 to 36. Incomplete rows, up to five in number, occurred in ciliates in experimental infections by each of the clones, but the addition of the number of incomplete meridians to the number of complete meridians did not influence the maximums, except in the case of some infections by the clone from M. fidelis in which a few ciliates showed a total of 34 meridians. It appears that although T. limacis from the native pulmonates will readily infect D. reticulatum, the ciliates from P. andersoni do not attain, at least under the conditions of the experiments which have been conducted, a number of rows exceeding the minimum number of 37 noted in natural infections in P. andersoni.

Notes: SUMMARY. The effect of surface-active agents on the permeability, survival, and pseudopod formation of the rhizopod, Pelomyxa carolinensis, was studied. Surfactants increased the rate of uptake of Na22 in almost all instances. Tweens which lower surface tension, stimulated or caused pseudopod formation; Tween 80 was the least toxic. The fatty acid component as well as the hydrophile-lipophile balance of the surfactant may influence the rate.

Notes: SUMMARY. A small ameba found both in rocky tide pools and tide washed sand is described. It is widely distributed, having been collected in both Pacific and Gulf of Mexico waters. The ameba extends clear, conical pseudopods which wave prior to retraction. It is presented as Vexillifera telmathalassa n. sp., in the Family Mayorellidae, Order Amoebida.

Notes: SUMMARY. At any given temperature level, the rate of oxygen poisoning increases proportionally with an increase in oxygen tension. But the toxicity of oxygen does not bear a proportional relationship to temperature. At a constant low tension, it is more toxic at low temperatures than at high ones and, at a constant high tension, it is less toxic at low temperatures than at high ones.

Notes: SUMMARY. Washed intact cell preparations of T. vaginalis oxidize pyruvate and malate. They are unable to utilize other intermediates of the Krebs cycle. Homogenates of these cells show the same pattern of enzymatic dehydrogenase activity toward the Krebs cycle organic acids. Attempts to inhibit pyruvate oxidation with such Krebs cycle blocking agents as malonate, arsenite, parapyruvate, and fluoroacetate were unsuccessful.Isotopic tracer studies with 2-C14 pyruvate showed that although several, as yet unidentified, compounds incorporated activity during the course of pyruvate metabolism, none of these labeled compounds corresponded to any of the Krebs cycle intermediates.It is concluded that the Krebs cycle is not the pathway for the oxidation of pyruvate in T. vaginalis.

Notes: SUMMARY. Chromosome behavior of strains WH-6, and WH-14 mating types I and II respectively of variety 1, of T. pyriformis was studied during conjugation. Meiosis takes place during the first two prezygotic divisions. The chromosomes are at late pachytene-early diplotene during the maximum elongation of the crescent in prophase of the first micronuclear division. As the crescent shortens, five bivalent chromosomes are readily recognized. Five dyads go to each pole at the end of the first division. Following a brief interphase the second meiotic division results in four micronuclear products, each with five chromosomes. Three of these products disintegrate; the fourth undergoes mitosis resulting in two pronuclei each with five chromosomes. Following a reciprocal interchange of the migratory pronuclei between the two conjugants, the synkaryon of each is formed just anterior to the macronucleus. The diploid number of ten chromosomes has been counted at the first division of the synkaryon.

Notes: SUMMARY. Isolated Blepharisma undulans were studied for the following: (1) fission rate, (2) mating behavior, (3) giant formation, (4) effects of daily transections. The organisms were maintained at 22°C. and isolated daily for 60 days. Fission rate varied from two divisions a day to one in 29 days. The major factor producing the variation appeared to be the type or amount of food. Frequency of conjugation also varied greatly. Daughters of a single organism will mate within 24 hours after division. Conjugation followed by one division, re-isolation, then conjugation within 24 hours following a second division occurred within a 5 day period. Giants were produced within 3 days by feeding with Khawkinea, Chilomonas and Paramecium. Paramecium alone did not produce giants. Exposure to 10−m, 10−4M colchicine did not accelerate this process.Daily transections into approximately equal halves were made. The anterior halves containing the mouth membranelles were followed. Fission rate was not affected by cutting. A progressive decrease in size occurred. All ultimately lysed, most on the 7th day. If cutting was suspended on any day, recovery and fission followed. If cutting was re-instituted, lysis would again occur on or about the 7th day. Daily amputation of the posterior tip for 2 weeks did not affect either size, fission rate, or longevity.

Notes: SUMMARY. Frontonia depressa (Stokes) Penard is an edaphic species characterized by formation of cysts. There is no dedifferentiation of the ciliate when encysted, and all organelles, except the body cilia and buccal apparatus, are clearly visible. Excystment is dependent upon the building up of hydrostatic pressure by the contractile vacuole. Activation is not always followed by excystment, which takes some hours.

Notes: SUMMARY. As part of an extended series of experiments, various combinations of primaquine-pyrimethamine were tested against pigeons infected with Plasmodium relictum.(a) Rapid clearance of blood forms was observed, although each component had been reduced to one-half of its previously established MED (minimal effective dose) for such clearance when administered alone.(b) Primaquine-pyrimethamine was followed by unprecedented delays in relapse after drug withdrawal. Such delays had not been elicited in any previous experiments in the series, employing each component alone, or chloroquine alone, or primaquine-chloroquine combinations, or pamaquine-plasmocid-chloroquine (Premaline N).

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Pelomyxa illinoisensis exhibits several phenomena of an interesting and uncommon nature, such as the presence of polar granules and the appearance of chromosomes through most of the resting and dividing stages of the nucleus. For these reasons and because of the importance of the nucleus as a stable characteristic in the taxonomy of amoebae, this study of the nucleus and nuclear division was undertaken.Culture methods were the same as those used for P. carolinensis. Best fixatives for nuclei were Carnoy, Flemming, 10% formalin, Duboscq-Brazil, Schaudinn and 2% osmium tetroxide. The body shape of P. illinoisensis in nuclear division is correlated with the stage of nuclear division and resembles the same stages in Amoeba proteus and P. carolinensis, with the exception of a ragged appearance of the cytoplasm of organisms containing prophase nuclei and the halo-like appearance of the pseudopods in those containing metaphase nuclei. The condensation of resting nuclei when subjected to acidified methyl green, reported by Kudo (18), occurred with all fixatives used with the exception of 10% formalin and 2% osmium tetroxide. The metaphase nuclei have a disk of polar granules on either side of the equatorial plate with fibers running from them to the chromosomes. The nature of these granules is unknown. Similarities and differences between P. illinoisensis and P. carolinensis are discussed.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Inhibitors, acid production, and substrate utilization by 4 strains of Tritrichmonas foetus (BP-3, BP-4, A-1, and A-2) were studied manometrically. All used glucose, galactose, mannose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, trehalose, glycogen, starch, lactate, and pyruvate. Strain A-1, with the highest aerobic and anaerobic endogenous rates, used these substrates less than did the others. Strain BP-3 did not use lactose; strains BP-4 and A-2 did not use raffinose aerobically and only slightly anaerobically; strain A-1 used both nearly as well as maltose and sucrose. All were strongly inhibited by iodoacetate and, if tested in the presence of glucose, aerobically or anaerobically, by fluoride, arsenite, hydroxylamine, and 8-hydroxyquinoline. Aerobically, 2,4-dinitrophenol produced stimulation which was greater in the presence of glucose; anaerobically, it produced inhibition which was, in some cases, comparable to the effects produced by the other inhibitors. Fluoride, arsenite, azide, and hydroxylamine, although producing insignificant inhibitory effects on endogenous O2 consumption, reduced and, in some cases, abolished motility of all strains. All 4 strains produced acid under anaerobic and aerobic conditions; strain A-1 produced more than the others. Lactic acid accounted for 30–51% of the acid produced in all strains.Strain A-1 more closely resembled the nasal trichomonad of swine (strain PN-610) than did strain BP-1. (Doran(3)). The writer believes that the swine nasal strain is a highly adapted strain of T. foetus.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Vorticella microstoma was grown non-axenically and axenically at pH 6.4. Vorticellas were maintained indefinitely on Bacillus cereus in a medium composed of Proteose-Peptone, Cerophyl, and the filtrate from boiled wheat kernels. Prolific growth occurred in 2-membered cultures. A medium containing hydrolyzed gelatin, aqueous liver extract, yeast nucleic acid hydrolysate, glucose, and penicillin is recommended for axenic growth.The potential value of vorticellids as research tools is discussed together with metabolic implications of supplementing sterile Proteose-Peptone broth with natural substances in particle form. The ineffectiveness of adding tryptophan, thiamine, glycine, and chelating agents to the axenic medium was considered. Refinements of the axenic medium are on trial.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. 45% of the agamid lizards captured in the Harbel area of Liberia harboured haemosporidia. These were Haemamoeba (=Plasmodium) agamae, H. giganteum and a Haemoproteus.A full description of H. agamae and H. giganteum blood forms is made and the discovery is reported of exo-erythrocytic forms of H. agamae in the spleen and of H. giganteum in the brain and liver. One oöcyst of H. agamae is reported in Aedes aegypti.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A brief introduction to a projected series of papers precedes the description of Plistophora collessi n.sp., parasitic in the egg follicles of Culex (Culex) tritaeniorhynchus Giles and C. (C.) gelidus Theobald. This microsporidian causes degeneration of the oöcyte, nurse cells and epithelium of the invaded follicle, within the distended limiting membrane of which a spherical cyst is formed. Such cysts measure from 45 to 340 μ (av., 220 μ) in diameter, and contain many sporonts. These average 50 μ in length and breadth and ultimately contain up to 300 (av., 200) sporoblasts, each of which develops into a single tiny (av., 2.5 by 1.4 μ) spore. Myriads of spores (many of them remaining grouped within the individual sporont membranes) pack the ripe cysts, which burst out into the lumen of the ovary in place of eggs, often associated in pairs, less commonly in groups of three, still enveloped by the follicular tube membrane. They roll about freely in the lateral and common oviducts, and are probably liberated, some of them eventually to be ingested by mosquito larvae, when the infected females attempt to oviposit.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. The pigments of Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris change when cultures of light-grown organisms are placed in the dark; the alterations in spectrum indicate the formation of a pheophytin-like substance from chlorophyll. This pheophytin-like compound is not an artifact of extraction and separation of the pigments; the spectral changes occur in the intact cells. The “dark” pigment is not yet definitely characterized. Formation of this material on dark adaptation seems dependent on the nutritional history of the cells.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Two strains (1B and 1P) of Plasmodium relictum isolated from pigeons could be easily passed serially in pigeons by transfer of infected blood. What appeared at first to be a qualitative difference between the infectiousness of gametocytes of strain 1P in pigeons and of gametocytes of the strain after being adapted to canaries (1P1) was found to be only a quantitative difference in their infectivity for mosquitoes. Earlier work had indicated that gametocytes of strain 1P were noninfectious for mosquitoes. The experiments reported here show that Culex tarsalis is highly susceptible to gametocytes of both strains 1B and1P and that Culex pipiens is slightly susceptible to gametocytes of strain 1P.The susceptibility of 72 pigeons (belonging to 24 varieties, plus mongrels and 3 species hybrids) to sporozoites of strain 1P1 was tested; only 5 transient infections lasting no more than two days and 3 subpatent infections were obtained. Similar results were obtained with sporozoites of strain 1B.The two strains are similar in both mosquito and avian hosts except that 1B is more highly infectious for C. pipiens and C. tarsalis than 1P. There is evidence that one or both of these strains may be Plasmodium relictum matutinum, Huff(7). A proposed hypothesis indicates that (1) various species of mosquitoes have different susceptibilities, (2) various species of avian hosts are infectious to different degrees, and (3) that the probability of a mosquito of a given species being infected from a given species of parasite may be expressed by the degree of overlap between the normal curves of susceptibility of the mosquito and infectiousness of the gametocytes in the pertinent avian host. The susceptibilities of pigeons to sporozoites of the two strains of parasites and of mosquitoes to gametocytes produced in pigeons are so low that it can be questioned whether these strains could persist in nature without the presence of other avian hosts on the one hand possessing greater susceptibility than the pigeon to sporozoites and on the other hand contributing more to the infectiousness of the gametocytes than the pigeon does.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A method for the isolation of trichocysts and cilia from whole paramecia is given. Trichocysts, cilia, mitochondria, and other particulates have been identified in homogenates and their numbers in different centrifugal fractions determined. Four antigens extractable from one strain of Paramecium have been studied by gel-diffusion techniques: Antigen 1, heat-stable, derived from trichocysts; antigen 2, not associated with any cellular particulate in homogenates; antigen 3, obtained in large quantities from the mitochondria; antigen 4, the antigen correlated with serotype, is derived mainly from the cilia and probably from the body wall and having the properties of a protein.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Eimeria carolinensis n.sp. (Sporozoa) is described from oöcysts in the feces of the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque) taken in the vicinity of Durham, North Carolina. The oöcysts are ellipsoidal to elongate ellipsoidal, 14–19.5 × 10–13 μ, mean of 17.6 × 11.3 μ. Micropyle absent. Oöcyst wall composed of 2 layers. A refractile granule present but no oöcyst residuum. Sporocysts ovoid almost filling the oöcyst. Small Stieda body present.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Crosses between serine requiring and non-requiring clones from natural habitats give rise to progeny that are numerically equally distributed between the two categories. Most of the progeny from crosses between two serine requiring parental clones require serine with a few segregating out that do not need the amino acid. These data indicate that the gene or genes controlling the serine non-requirement are recessive to the wild type which requires serine. Growth of the F1 progeny was highly variable. Some clones failed to survive on serine deficient media and were therefore tentatively assigned the genotype +/+. The remaining clones were of two classes: one grew slowly on serine deficient media and was given the genotype of the heterozygote, +/s; the other grew without serine, hence was given the double recessive genotype, s/s. The F2 progeny from matings of s/s and s/s need no serine whereas the cross of +/s and s/s gave equal numbers of serine requiring and serine non-requiring progeny. The cross of two heterozygotes, +/s and +/s, yield progeny approximating the 3:1 ratio in favor of serine requiring clones. Crosses at the F3 level produced non-viable offspring in all cases except one. Progeny from this cross with the genotype s/s were mated giving rise to F4 progeny all of which grew without serine. The data support an outbreeding economy for this organism with selection in favor of the heterozygote. Although the data seem to favor a single-gene hypothysis, suppressor genes may be involved. With selection favoring the heterzygote, distorted genetic ratios make the data difficult to analyze.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Intracardial inoculation of 1–10 million L. donovani in 0.1 ml. of ground spleen suspension from an infected animal (hamster) results in a uniform rise of parasite numbers in the untreated animal over the first 8 days after the inoculation. This rise is highly consistent from experiment to experiment.Treatment is accomplished by parenteral injection of a compound for 6 successive days in this time interval, starting 24 hours after inoculation.No known active compound in proper dosage (sodium stibogluconate, pentamidine, fuadin) has failed to show a significant suppression of the expected rise in parasite numbers. No known inactive compound has had any effect on the course of the infection.The dosage-response curve for the active compounds suggests that the method is a sensitive one. Since it takes only 8 days to complete, it is economical as well.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. It has been shown that the output of the contractile vacuole of Crithidia fasciculata increases as the concentration of solute in the external solution decreases when NaCl is the solute. The increase in output is the result of increased rate of growth as well as increased maximum size, the latter being more important in the range 0.1M–0.01M. Solutions of penta-erythritol produce the same effects as isosmolar solutions of NaCl. Body volume is not maintained constant but increases less than two-fold between 0.1M and 0.0001M. The isotonic concentration of NaCl is estimated as 0.12M. It is not possible to demonstrate any effect of concentration of the external environment on the endogenous rate of oxygen consumption. A linear relationship between output and calculated osmotic gradient across the cell membrane has been shown in the concentration range 0.1M–0.01M. Absence of this relationship, and failure of body volume to increase as predicted, in solutions more dilute than 0.01M are interpreted as indications that other processes probably become predominant in these solutions. It is concluded that the contractile vacuole of this flagellate is incapable of maintaining absolute constancy of internal osmotic pressure and body volume but prevents much of the change expected on physical grounds.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. The rather rarely found holotrichous ciliate Pseudomicrothorax dubius, generally considered in the most authoritative literature to be a member of the order Trichostomatida, more likely belongs in the Hymenostomatida. Its curious combination of trans-ordinal characteristics, however, makes difficult exact systematic allocation of it and of the congeneric species P. agilis. The provocative morphological features include: a gymnostome-like cytopharyngeal “basket”; a tetrahymenal buccal apparatus, with membranelles comparable with those of primitive hymenostomes; an advanced semi-autonomous type of stomatogenesis; and sensory bristles, flattened rigid form, and restricted ciliature reminiscent of certain spirotrichs. Brief discussion is presented concerning the influence of modern ideas of ciliate classification upon what is considered the proper taxonomic position of the genus.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A new fresh water species of Actinosphaerium is described, the fourth member of the genus. Some of the more significant of its diagnostic traits are: 1) the Actinophrys-like nuclei with peripheral nucleolar granules and without central rosette-shaped nucleoli, 2) the occurrence of some nuclei in the ecto-endoplasmic border and the insertion of axial filaments on them, and 3) the low ratio of endoplasm to ectoplasm.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. In cultures of the marine dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra grown with alternating light and dark periods of 12 hours each, at least 85% of all cell divisions which occur in a day take place during a 5-hour period spanning the end of the dark period and the beginning of the light period. A very distinct maximum in the number of recently divided cells occurs at about the time the light period begins.This diurnal periodicity in cell division is lost after 4 to 6 days in continuous bright light, but will persist for at least 14 days in continuous dim light. The period of approximately 24 hours under constant conditions is only slightly altered by varying light intensity and temperature, both of which factors are known to affect markedly the generation time. The time at which cell division occurs is therefore postulated to be controlled by some sort of rhythmic or clock mechanism.Similarities between the cell division rhythm and the endogenous rhythm of luminescence in this organism are discussed. The occurrence of a glow, or steady light emission of low intensity, at about the time of cell division, is described, and it is suggested that this glow may result from cellular changes accompanying certain stages of cell division.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. The photographs illustrate male and female gametes before fertilization, several progressive stages in the entrance of the male gamete into the cytoplasm of the female, cytoplasmic fusion of gametes, loss of extranuclear organelles of male gamete, retention of extranuclear organelles of female gamete, movement of pronucleus of male gamete to that of female, progressive stages in fusion of pronuclei, and the formation of the zygote which possesses the extranuclear organelles of the female gamete. Some abortive attempts at fertilization, resulting from failure of gametes to differentiate, are shown.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Detailed directions are given for the preparation of a simplified assay medium and of natural materials for assay of pteridines with Crithidia fasciculata. Unconjugated pteridines in natural materials which also contain conjugated pteridines (folic and folinic acids) can be assayed by destroying the conjugated pteridines with acid hydrolysis, which does not appreciably alter Crithidia-active unconjugated pteridines. The widespread occurrence of unconjugated pteridines and their significance in such processes as photoreception are discussed.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Photokinesis or the non-directed rate of swimming of Euglena gracilis for various light intensities was studied. The rate of swimming in white light was found to increase with light intensity until it reaches 0.16 mm./sec. at a saturation of 40 ft. candles, and then decreased with increasing light intensities. Polarized light appeared to be more effective (0.18 mm./sec. at 13 ft. candles) than non-polarized light.The action spectrum for photokinesis showed two peaks, a major one near 465 mμ, and another in the neighborhood of 630 mμ, having the values of 0.18 mm./sec. and 0.16 mm./sec. respectively at an intensity of 4 ft. candles.The action spectrum for phototaxis, or directed orientation, had a peak near 420 mμ and showed a maximum near 490 mμ. Both dark-grown and dark-adapted Euglena showed spectral peaks similar to those of the light-grown cells. For polarized light, the action spectrum had two additional peaks at 468 mμ and 508 mμ. The polarized light effect may indicate more than one light-absorbing pigment within the “eye spot” or that other pigments within Euglena were absorbing.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Four new species of Eimeria are described from small mammals in Liberia. These are: E. levinei, sp. nov. from a free-tailed bat, E. firestonei, sp. nov., and E. milleri, sp. nov., from a shrew, and E. putevelata, sp. nov., from a striped grass mouse.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A new species of Stentor is described, a fresh water form, medium sized, with cerulean blue pigment, and characterized by retractable feeding organelles.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Coprozoic protozoa from elk, bison, bear, moose, coyote, marmot, cattle, horse, sheep and man were kept in feces at 4° C. for 2–6 months. During that time in most of the samples there developed the flagellates Cercomonas sp., Copromonas ruminantium and Monas communis; the amoebae Vahlkampfia sp. and Sappinia diploidea, and ciliates of the Nyctotherus type, and an unidentified smaller species. There was a correlation between numbers of protozoa and bacteria. The same species of protozoa in soil or in soil mixed with boiled feces failed to live. Coprozoic protozoa may require certain essential metabolites from bacteria as do true parasites. The wide variation in appearance of cysts made it practically impossible to identify the protozoa with certainty in that stage. Reliance had to be on motile forms which readily developed in the cold cultures.

Notes: SUMMARY. A comparative cytological study of the buccal organelles in seven species of Paramecium and a critical analysis of their morphogenesis during binary fission are presented. The. results show several heretofore overlooked features of the buccal system which may possess considerable systematic significance. On the basis of the morphology of the buccal apparatus and its mode of stomatogenesis, the genus Paramecium, traditionally placed among the trichostomes, is considered to be a true member of the order Hymenostomatida. The taxonomic utility of the buccal organelles and their phylogenetic implications are discussed in the light of the fundamental principles underlying the “new systematics” of ciliated protozoa.

Notes: SUMMARY. In ciliates belonging to the two gymnostome families Chlamydodontidae and Dysteriidae as well as to the order Chonotrichida the macronucleus is composed of two parts which are distinct but in very close juxtaposition. One part, here called “orthomerous,” contains granules or microsomes of desoxyribonucleoprotein and several nucleoli; it thus shows the normal structure of a macronucleus of the ordinary type. The other part, “paramerous,” contains desoxy-ribonucleic acid diffused, apparently, throughout a homogeneous karyolymph and possesses, in addition, several nucleoli and an endosome of desoxyribonucleoprotein.The three groups of ciliates under discussion are closely related and constitute an assemblage of forms remarkably evolved. The “heteromerous” structure of their macronuclei must be considered as a secondary acquisition and a differentiation of the “homeomerous” type which characterizes the structure of the macronucleus in most other ciliates.

Notes: SUMMARY. Strains of Chilomonas paramecium differing in degree of resistance to sulfanilamide have been established through acclimatization to this sulfonamide at 50, 100 and 200 mg. %. Resistant strains differ from the normal stock in their enhanced sensitivity to p-aminobenzoic acid. In the normal stock, sulfanilamide inhibition is reversed at an SA/PABA ratio of 10,000 but not at 20,000; in the least resistant strain, at a ratio of 400,000 but not at 800,000. In resistant strains inhibition is reversed by folk acid, methionine, adenine, cytosine and thymine; in the normal stock, none of these metabolites produces reversal. In high concentrations of PABA (10–20 mg. %) growth of the normal stock is only retarded, whereas the strain least resistant to sulfanilamide fails to recover from exposure to 20 mg. % PABA. The strain most resistant to sulfanilamide is most susceptible to PABA in high concentrations. The data suggest that resistance to sulfanilamide in C. paramecium may depend mainly upon an accelerated synthesis of PABA.

Notes: SUMMARY. Paramecium caudatum exposed to 120 lbs./in.2 (gsi) gauge pressure (g.p.) at 27°C. died in 2 hours 32 ± 15 minutes. Under similar conditions with the addition of 0.04 m pyruvate and 8 × 10-3 m Mg++ they lived at least twice as long. Substitution of Co++ or Mn++ for Mg++ provided slightly less protection.Addition of sulfhydryl (SH) reagents to paramecia exposed for 2 hours to 120 psi (g.p.) oxygen resulted in reversal of oxygen poisoning. By means of these reagents oxygen poisoning could be reversed indefinitely. It now appears that direct evidence has been obtained to show that oxygen poisoning is a result of SH inactivation. The extent of the poisoning depends upon the rate of oxidation of SH groups by the oxygen as opposed to the rate at which the organism can reduce oxidized and/or furnish new SH groups.

Notes: SUMMARY. Objectives of the investigation were to: (1) ascertain whether, on the basis of enzyme inhibition, localization, and staining intensity, multiple phosphatases exist in Tetrahymena pyriformis W; (2) show activity values for phosphatase in specimens of T. pyriformis W from various ages and types of culture solutions; and (3) test the reliability of the Ca-cobalt technique for demonstration of phosphatase in cell nuclei.Complete inhibition of phosphatases (Ca-cobalt) was obtained with semi-carbazide, HCI and 0.2 m citrate buffer, pH 5.5. Potassium cyanide (0.01 m) tended to activate phosphatase with adenosinetriphosphate and inhibited phosphatase with Na-glycerophosphate, adenosine-5-phosphate, adenosine-3-phosphate, glucose-1-phosphate, and creatine phosphate solutions. A differential inhibition of phosphatase was obtained with inhibitors other than KCN.Phosphatase-active areas were in essentially the same intracellular position in all substrate solutions with the exception of enzyme-active areas in organisms from tryptone-MgCl2-citrate (0.01 m, pH 5.5) solutions; in the latter, both nuclear and cytoplasmic activity was evident. Organisms from tryptone-MgCl2-citratel (0.02 m), and vitamin-enriched tryptone solutions exhibited abundant cytoplasmic phosphatase with the azo-dye procedure. On the other hand, cytoplasmic phosphatase was not demonstrated with the Ca-cobalt procedure.Results obtained with enzyme inhibitors, various substrate solutions and evaluation of staining intensities suggest but do not demonstrate that 3 phosphomonoesterases, which hydrolyze glycero-phosphate, adenosine-5-phosphate, and adenosinetriphosphate, exist in Tetrahymena pyriformis W.Nuclear reactions obtained with the Ca-cobalt procedure were believed to be artifacts, with the exception of reactions obtained with cells from tryptone-MgCl2-citrate solutions subsequent to incubation in adenosinetriphosphate solution.

Notes: SUMMARY. The acetate metabolism of Euglena grown on ethanol at pH 3.5 (Et-grown) differs from that of the same strain grown on acetate at pH 7.3 (Ac-grown) in several respects. Et-grown cells have a rate of acetate oxidation at pH 7.0 lower than that of Ac-grown cells. The rate of acetate oxidation by Et-grown cells is markedly increased at low pH, whereas that of Ac-grown cells is relatively independent of pH. At pH 5.5, the respiratory rate of Et-grown cells can be increased by increasing acetate concentrations up to 18.4 IBM, whereas that of Ac-grown cells is independent of acetate concentration above 4 mM. At pH 7.0, both types of cell are unaffected by changes in acetate concentration above 4 mM.Et-grown cells incubated in the presence of acetate for about 80 minutes frequently adapt to acetate, taking on characteristics similar to those of Ac-grown cells.

Notes: SUMMARY. Genetic cross transfer of laboratory-induced drug resistance from a tryparsamide-resistant strain to a sodium naphuride-resistant strain and vice versa has been tested in cultures of Trypanosoma gambiense. The results obtained from a variety of different concentrations of the two drugs used do not give any indication of sexuality in these flagellates.

Notes: SUMMARY. The metabolism of Tritrichomonas foetus (strain, BP-1) and trichomonads from the nasal cavity and cecum of swine was studied manometrically under similar experimental conditions. At pH 6.4, quantitative and qualitative differences were observed. The cecal (probably T. suis) and nasal trichomonad used glucose, galactose, fructose, mannose, lactose, sucrose, raffinose, and trehalose. T. foetus used all except lactose and raffinose. All three were inhibited by iodoacetate and arsenite. T. foetus and the nasal form were significantly inhibited by fluoride and 8-hydroxyquinoline, whereas the cecal trichomonad was not. At varied pH, all failed to oxidize Krebs' cycle intermediates. The amounts of oxygen consumed by T. foetus and the nasal trichomonad in the presence of lactate and pyruvate were at levels similar to those with disaccharides; the cecal trichomonad was indifferent toward both substances. Anaerobically, lactate and pyruvate increased the evolution of gas by all three trichomonads. Aerobic acid formation was demonstrated for all three forms. Anaerobically, metabolic CO2 and gas(es) that were not absorbed by KOH were evolved by all three. Pure oxygen was inhibitory to glucose utilization and stimulatory to the endogenous respiration of all trichomonads; the nasal form was affected the least.The writer believes that the cecal trichomonad is different from T. foetus and the nasal trichomonad of swine. The relationship between the nasal trichomonad and T. foetus remains in doubt.