ISSN:
0362-2525
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Virulent hay-infusion cultures of Bacillus pyocyaneus are toxic to pure-line races of three species of paramecia, but these races may acquire a tolerance for this toxic agent. Races with acquired tolerance have been grown for long periods of time in toxic, pure cultures of B. pyocyaneus by means of the daily-isolation culture method, and here the average division rate is as high as, or higher than, in the chance-mixed bacterial cultures in which these protozoa are usually maintained in the laboratory. The tolerance is lost, however, when the paramecia are removed from the toxic cultures and grown for a number of generations in cultures of non-toxic bacteria.The toxic agent that is lethal to paramecía is probably the soluble toxin of B. pyocyaneus. The investigation shows that the agent is soluble and either thermolabile or volatile. It also shows that all deleterious substances, other than the soluble toxin, known to be produced in cultures of this bacillus, are non-lethal to paramecia.Hay-infusion cultures of Bacillus enteritidis were lethal to paramecia. All attempts to develop tolerance in paramecia for the toxic agent in these cultures failed.Under the experimental conditions that prevailed, diphtheria toxin was found to have no appreciable effect upon the division rate or death rate in three species of paramecia.
Additional Material:
6 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmor.1050460104
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