Summary
Morphological changes in the central vacuole during the growth in in vitro culture ofBlastocystis hominis were investigated by light and electron microscopy. Most cells in log phase and an early stationary phase showed a positive staining reaction in the central vacuole with PAS or Sudan black B stain, whereas cells in late stationary phase showed few positive reactions. Electron microscopic observations revealed that 95% ofB. hominis cells in log phase and 50% of cells in early stationary phase, had a substantial accumulation of electron-dense material in the central vacuole. In contrast, only 25% of the organisms in late stationary phase had an electron-dense central vacuole, while more than 50% of cells had an electron-lucent central vacuole. These results indicate thatB. hominis accumulated carbohydrates and lipids in the central vacuole during cell growth and that the organism probably consumed these metabolic substances during stationary growth. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that the central vacuole is an important organelle for storage of metabolic substances, such as carbohydrates and lipids, required for cell growth.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- PBS:
-
phosphate-buffered saline
- PAS:
-
periodic acid-Schiff
References
Boreham PFL, Stenzel DJ (1993)Blastocystis in humans and animals: morphology, biology, and epizootiology. In: Baker JR, Muller R (eds) Advances in parasitology, vol 32. Academic Press, New York, pp 1–70
Burden DJ, Anger HS, Hammel NC (1979)Blastocystis sp. infections in pigs. Vet Microbiol 3: 227–234
Dunn LA, Boreham PFL, Stenzel DJ (1989) Ultrastructural variation ofBlastocystis hominis stocks in culture. Int J Parasitol 19: 43–56
Johnson AM, Thanou A, Boreham PFL, Baverstock P (1989)Blastocystis hominis: phylogenetic affinities determined by rRNA sequence comparison. Exp Parasitol 68: 283–288
Silard R, Panaitescu D, Burghelea B (1983) Ultrastructural aspectsof Blastocystis hominis. Arch Roum Pathol Exp Microbiol 42: 233–242
Stenzel DJ, Dunn LA, Boreham PFL (1989) Endocytosis in culturesof Blastocystis hominis. Int J Parasitol 19: 787–791
—, Cassidy MF, Boreham PFL (1994) Morphology ofBlastocystis sp. from domestic birds. Parasitol Res 80: 131–137
Teow WL, Ng GC, Chan PP, Chan YC, Yap EH, Zaman V, Singh M (1992) A surveyof Blastocystis in reptiles. Parasitol Res 78: 453–455
Yamada M, Yoshikawa H, Tegoshi T, Matsumoto Y, Yoshikawa T, Shiota T, Yoshida Y (1987) Light microscopical studyof Blastocystis spp. in monkeys and fowls. Parasitol Res 73: 527–531
Yoshikawa H, Yamada M, Yoshida Y (1988) Freeze-fracture studies ofBlastocystis hominis. J Protozool 35: 522–528
—, Kuwayama N, Enose Y (1995a) Histochemical detection of carbohydrates ofBlastocystis hominis. J Euk Microbiol 42: 70–74
—, Satoh J, Enose Y (1995b) Light and electron microscopic localization of lipids inBlastocystis hominis. J Electron Microsc 44: 100–103
Zierdt CH (1973) Studies ofBlastocystis hominis. J Protozool 20: 114–121
— (1991)Blastocystis hominis — past and future. Clin Microbiol Rev 4: 61–79
—, Rude W, Bull BS (1967) Protozoan characteristics ofBlastocystis hominis. Am J Clin Pathol 48: 495–501
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yoshikawa, H., Hayakawa, A. Morphological changes in the central vacuole ofBlastocystis hominis during in vitro culture. Protoplasma 194, 63–68 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01273168
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01273168