ALBERT

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A chemically defined culture medium has been developed for the soil amoeba Hartmannella rhysodes Singh which contains the minimum essential organic requirements for growth. The medium consists of 7 amino acids, 3 vitamins, a carbon source (e.g. glucose) and inorganic salts.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A mutant strain of Astasia longa utilized glucose for growth whereas the parent (J) strain did not. The optimal pH for growth of the mutant with glucose (sole carbon source) was near neutrality; the optimal glucose concentration 0.02 M. Cell-free extracts or cell homogenates produced C14O2 when incubated in the presence of C14-labeled glucose. On the other hand, after incubation with C14-labeled glucose, intact parent cells and their respiratory CO2 showed no radioactivity while the mutant-strain cells and CO2 produced were active. Dissimilation of glucose-1-C14 and glucose-6-C14 yielded the same amount of radioactivity in metabolic CO2 in cell-free extracts of both strains. Of five enzymes assayed, hexokinase, phosphoglucomutase, and lactic dehydrogenase were present whereas glucose-6-PO4 dehydrogenase and glucose dehydrogenase were absent in cell homogenates of both strains. Presumably these two strains of A. longa differ in permeability of the plasma membrane. Further tracer and enzyme studies indicated that the Embden-Meyerhof scheme is the principal pathway of glucose catabolism; the hexose mono-phosphate shunt and the direct oxidative pathway were either not operating or quantitatively insignificant.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. By means of electron microscopy, a study has been made of the fine structure of the macrogametocytes, microgametocytes and oocysts of Eimeria perforans from the intestine of the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). The parasites lie in a vacuole within the host cell. The surface of the gametocytes is not plain, but displays irregular protrusions. A large intranuclear body can be detected within the macrogametocytes. Similar structures are also found within the cytoplasm. Within the latter there exists a large spread out reticulum, the channels and vesicles of which concentrate especially close to the nuclear membrane. Tubuli are seen in the numerous mitochondria, which often have a dumb-bell shape.In most of the gametocytes irregular, strongly osmiophilic lipid inclusions are observed, which always are surrounded by the endoplasmic reticulum. Strange folded ovoid bodies are found within the cytoplasm of the oocysts. Nothing can be told with certainty of their nature and function. Probably they represent specific storage bodies.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Tritrichomonas foetus survived much better on extended storage at -95 than at -28d̀C following slow freezing in the presence of 1.0 M glycerol. There was no significant difference between these temperatures in survival up to 8 days, but thereafter the protozoa continued to die off slowly at -28d̀, whereas their numbers remained essentially constant at -95d̀ for 128 to 256 days. The trichomonads' motility was much better after storage at -95d̀ than after storage at -28d̀, and fresh cultures could be initiated from the former much more readily.Other constituents of the suspending medium besides glycerol affect the survival of the protozoa upon freezing. Survival was much better when the protozoa were frozen in the original Diamond's trypticase-yeast extract-maltose-cysteine-ascorbic acid-serum medium in which they had been grown than when they were frozen in physiological salt solution or in fresh Diamond's medium. There was no significant difference between survival in the latter two suspending media. The speed and time of centrifugation needed to remove the trichomonads from the medium in which they had been grown had no effect on their survival upon subsequent freezing. Presumably some product or products of the trichomonads' metabolism have an additional protective action which supplements that of glycerol.When frozen in the original Diamond's medium in which they had been grown plus 1.0 M glycerol, an average of 15% of the trichomonads were alive after 128 days' storage at -28d̀ and an average of 38% were alive at -95d̀C. When frozen in physiological salt solution plus 1.0 M glycerol, these percentages were 8% and 12% respectively.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. When Spathidium spathula was exposed to X-ray doses ranging from 1–25 kr this animal was found to be more radiosensitive than any ciliate previously reported. A dose of 1 kr is sufficient to increase the time of the first generation from 5 to about 5 1/2 hours. A dose of 4 kr is enough to approximately double the generation time. Bacteria in the medium during irradiation do not protect the ciliate against injury. Animals irradiated as dry cysts are only slightly more resistant than vegetative forms, requiring 10 kr to double the generation time. One day after exposure, irradiated lines are uniformly poor in growth rate (0–2 daily divisions), but later a bimodal response is noticed, some lines remaining poor and others recovering. Within 24 hours after treatment, a number of irradiated animals show structural abnormalities and are greatly increased in size. The experiments have not determined the reason for the high sensitivity of Spathidium but have made certain alternatives unlikely.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. When Tetrahymena suspended in water were given increasing doses of radiation, oxygen consumption decreased with increasing dose, reaching 60–90% at 600,000 r. Cells irradiated in 0.07 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, showed no significant decrease in oxygen consumption even at 600,000 r. The decrease in respiration observed on irradiation of Tetrahymena pyriformis W in water with 300,000 r of X-radiation was prevented by addition of pyruvate or acetate during or immediately after irradiation. Pyruvate stimulated the respiration of the X-irradiated cells, particularly at 10 and 60 min post-irradiation.Lactate markedly stimulated the respiration of control suspensions of Tetrahymena cells and oxidation of lactate by cells irradiated with 300,000 r was increased by 20 to 100%, depending on the concentration of lactate and the time after irradiation. Pyruvate was considerably more effective than lactate in increasing O2 uptake of X-irradiated cells, particularly at 10 min post-irradiation. Thioctic acid affected neither the respiration of control or X-irradiated Tetrahymena nor the oxidation of pyruvate.The growth lag of Tetrahymena increased proportionately with increasing radiation dose; no cells survived 600,000 r. The presence of metabolites during irradiation did not affect the lag period or subsequent growth rates. The effects observed were discussed in terms of an alteration of the permeability of Tetrahymena after irradiation.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A full account of the nuclear changes during binary fission and conjugation in a local race of Blepharisma is presented in this paper. The macronucleus consists of 2 nodes connected by a strand. Number of micronuclei varies from 6 to 18. During binary fission, condensation of macronucleus is followed by elongation and thinning of the middle region which finally breaks. Daughter nuclei later attain the typical vegetative form. Notably, during binary fission some micronuclei appear to complete their mitoses by the time the macronucleus attains the condensed form, while others lag behind and exhibit practically every stage of mitosis.During conjugation, from 6 to 10 micronuclei undergo the first pregamic division, the same number through the second division, and two products of the second division take part in the third division. The rest degenerate. Division products of the nuclei in the paraoral region take part in synkaryon formation. The synkaryon undergoes either 2 or 3 divisions. In the former case, of the 4 products, 2 become the macronuclear anlagen, one the micronucleus and the fourth degenerates. In the latter case, of the 8 products, 3 to 4 become the macronuclear anlagen and the rest become micronuclei. Chromatin elimination has been observed during the division of the macronuclear anlage, followed by an extra metagamic fission of the cell.Comparison with two other races from India and an American race indicates considerable diversity in the structure and behaviour of the nuclear apparatus in different races of Blepharisma undulans.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Females of Heterakis gallinae were separated on the basis of their capacity to transmit the protozoan parasite Histomonas meleagridis. Sections of worms, capable of transmitting the protozoon, revealed the organism in both males and females as well as in the eggs. Infected male worms contained histomonads in the gut wall and the wall and lumen of the reproductive system. Female worms infected with H. meleagridis showed the organisms throughout the reproductive system. Histomonads, found in uterine eggs possessing shells, had a larger nucleus and reduced cytoplasm.Because of the presence of the protozoon among the sperm in the male reproductive system, it is believed the organism can be transmitted to female worms through copulation. The cycle in the worms also supports the assumption that H. meleagridis was originally a parasite of the worm.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Speculations regarding the mode of transmission of monocystid parasites of earthworms over a period of more than 100 years have never been tested experimentally under controlled conditions. In order to do so a stock of infectionfree Eisenia foetida (Sav.) was raised from cocoons and experimental infections were induced in this host using sporocysts of the gregarine parasites Apolocystis elongata Phillips & Mackinnon 1946, and Nematocystis elmassiani (Hesse, 1909). Experimental infections were obtained by feeding to uninfected worms sporocysts obtained directly from infected host worms. This proved that the intervention of a vector is not a necessary condition of infection. Infections could not be induced by injecting sporocysts through the body wall into the body cavity. Infections are thus probably acquired in nature by the ingestion of sporocysts. Sporocysts do not leave the body of the host by being passed from coelom to lumen of the gut, nor do they pass directly to the exterior through apertures of the body wall. There was no evidence of parasitic autotomy. It is therefore concluded that death and decay of the host is the normal method of dissemination of sporocysts. Sporocysts were not infective after drying in air for three weeks. Other sporocysts lost potency after storage in moist conditions for several months. Infections involving the organisms specified were sporadic and unpredictable; modifying factors, such as variations in host susceptibility and latency in infection, appeared to be operating.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. By an automatic electronic technique—the Flying Spot Particle Resolver—the effect of a wide range of concentrations of vitamin B12 on the size and growth of the B12-dependent Euglena gracilis was studied. Rate of cell growth was directly proportional, and cell size inversely proportional, to B12 concentration. Gross B12 depletion resulted in gigantism and prolongation of generation times.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Previously, the reproduction-inhibiting effects of ablastin could only be shown in vivo. The present report describes techniques for the in vitro demonstration and titration of this antibody. With a medium composed of Hanks' balanced salt solution, rat serum, lactalbumin hydrolysate, yeast extract and rat blood lysate, blood stream forms of Trypanosoma lewisi can be grown for approximately 24 hours at 37d̀C. Starting with the medium containing normal rat serum and inoculated with adult (inhibited) trypanosomes from infected rat blood, 50% or more of the parasites are in various stages of division after incubation overnight. Under similar conditions with ablastic rat serum, the parasites do not reproduce but remain as adults. If the medium is inoculated with reproducing trypanosomes from the blood, parasites in the presence of normal serum continue to reproduce, whereas those exposed to ablastin are almost completely converted to adult, non-reproducing forms. Similar results are obtained when the immune sera used are first adsorbed with living parasites to remove all trypanocidal antibodies. Ablastic serum inactivated at 56d̀C for 20 minutes does not lose its inhibitory activity indicating that ablastin is not complement dependent, and parasites grown on media at room temperature are not affected by the antibody suggesting that basic antigenic differences exist between blood stream forms at 37d̀C and culture forms at room temperature. Studies of the conversion of blood stream forms to culture forms indicate that the critical temperature range for the conversion lies between 28d̀ and 30d̀C. The significance of these results is discussed, and possible applications of the techniques described to studies of the mechanism of ablastic action are considered.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. Normal swimming behavior of Paramecium multimicronucleatum in an essential mineral element solution with 0.0002 M calcium changed into continuous avoidance reactions upon replacement by equimolar strontium; equimolar barium produced a less pronounced similar effect. In equivalent pure SrCl2 and BaCl2 solutions, avoidance reactions were less frequent than in the balanced solutions. P. multimicronucleatum inoculated into autoclaved calcium- or strontium-containing cultures of the alga Protosiphon botryoides (ultimate food source) multiplied greatly and essentially equally, but died in barium. Accelerated avoidance reaction rates were observed in strontium up to and at 32 days after inoculation.

Notes: SYNOPSIS. A previous study of parasites from relapsed P. berghei infections of mice indicated that the behavior of the relapse parasites differed from that of their parent strain. Experiments have been performed comparing the behavior of relapse and parent parasite infections in mice under two sets of conditions. In one group of experiments the behavior after antimalarial treatments, designed to result in chronic or latent states of infection, was tested. In all, 8 relapse strains were tested against their parent strains in six different experiments which employed 536 mice. It was observed that the mice infected with the relapse strains had a statistically significant greater mortality after the treatments than did mice infected with parent strains. This difference was observed regardless of how the relapse strain had been previously treated, or of what treatment was used in the experiments. In a second group of experiments, the behavior of infections with relapse and parent parasites was compared in normal mice. Five relapse strains were compared to their parent strains in a total of 5 experiments using 356 mice. It was observed that the mean survival time of mice infected with relapse strains was significantly greater than that of mice infected with the parent strains. It is not known whether this apparent difference in the behavior of relapse and parent parasites is related to the mechanism for relapse of P. berghei infections, or is merely a characteristic of parasites that had survived in an immune host.

Notes: The rate of ingestion of cytoplasm from its prey ciliate by Podophrya collini shows a maximum at 18°C. The rate of ingestion is the same for all active tentacles during the feeding period. Calculation of the amount of cytoplasm ingested from rate measurement and from dimensional alterations of ciliate and suctorian during feeding indicates conformity to the hypothesis that the motive force for ingestion results from integrated activity of the total cell and not from autonomous activity of the tentacles alone. The estimated motive force approximates 0.2 atmosphere. Data is presented to indicate that energy to maintain this motive force is derived from the normal oxidative metabolism of the suctorian.

Notes: Hepatozoon procyonis, n. sp., is described from the raccoon Procyon lotor from southwestern Georgia. Mature gametocytes in monocytes in blood smears and schizocysts and developing gametocytes in sections of heart tissue were observed and described. A Hepatozoon was also found in the fox squirrel Sciurus niger.

Notes: In Paramecium there is no known correlation between the direction of electric current through the membrane and of ciliary beat. One reason is that the Ludloff phenomenon, an anodal shift in the limit of the area of reversal with increased current strength, has seemed contradictory to most other data. However, by assuming Paramecium to be a core conductor immersed in a volume conductor and by applying the laws of polarizing currents it is possible to explain all existing data on reversal of normal ciliary action, and also on activation of cilia in immobilized specimens by electrical current. It is assumed that a threshold degree of depolarization of the normal membrane potential or of current density causes reversal. The Ludloff phenomenon is caused by anodal progression of this degree of depolarization with increasing membranecurrent. If it is also assumed that an increase in the membrane potential of immobilized specimens causes activation in the normal direction, one can predict anodal activation, progression of reversal with decrement in velocity, time course of development of excitation, ancdal stimulation upon “break.” stimulation by linearly rising currents, relative refractory and supernormal periods, effect of angle of orientation, and effect of acetylcholine and antiacetylchoiine esterase. Assumption of a neuromotor system is not needed. However, if available data are interpreted in the manner commonly used for nerve it can be concluded that an active accommodative process exists and possibly also a local excitatory state. A recent “dipolar” theory of galvanotaxis is not acceptable because it does not include ciliary reversal.

Notes: The morphologic phenomena of the conjugation of Paramecium caudatum are analysed by transverse sectioning of couples at the level of the junction zone. This orientation allows exact determination of the adjacent surfaces (which strongly suggests the absence of a paroral cone) and their relation to the ciliary fields. The modifications of the outer pellicle are studied with the electron microscope. It is shown that cytoplasmic communications occur at the top of the ridges which limit the periciliary depressions. The kinetosomes remain apparently intact but cilia and trichocysts disappear. An active role by the latter organelles is suggested for the union of the two conjugants.

Notes: Resistance to sulfanilamide has persisted in a strain of Chilomonas Paramecium for 255 transfers (63 months) in a drug-free medium. In attempts to modify resistance, stocks derived from sulfonamide-resistant and normal strains have been acclimatized to and then maintained in media containing p-aminobenzoic acid at 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 mgJ100 ml. Each PABA-acclimatized strain was more susceptible to sulfanilamide than its parent stock. In other words, sulfanil-amide-resistant strains lost their resistance and normal strains became hypersensitive. One strain, adapted first to sulfanilamide, subsequently to PABA (15 mgJ100 ml) and again to sulfanilamide, showed a loss of and finally a restoration of sui-fonamide-resistance (but to a degree somewhat lower than the original level).

Notes: DL-serine, DL-methionine or DL-serine + DL-methionine in excess inhibited the growth of Tetrahymena pyriformis H. Excess serine was most inhibitory at high concentration of folic acid, whereas the effect of excess methionine or methionine + serine was most pronounced at low levels of folic acid. Inhibition due to excess serine was relieved by raising the level of methionine or by adding pyrimethamine to lower the effective folic acid level, and was intensified by adding Dl.-ethionine or by raising the level of folic acid. Similarly, inhibition due to excess methionine was relieved by supplying more serine or adding DL-ethionine (which reduced the amount of available methionine) and was intensified by adding pyrimethamine. Inhibition by excess methionine + serine was reversed by increasing threonine, provided there was ample guanine present. Low levels of guanine or the presence of 8-azaguanine prevented this reversal. Comparisons are made with the work of others.

Notes: Autogamy in Frontonia leucas is described for the first time. The process appears to occur at irregular intervals. From 7 to 10% of the individuals are affected. The beginning of autogamy is marked by a swelling of all the micronuclei which take part in the first two maturation divisions. The third division however affects only one of the second division products. Occasionally two or three may divide. A paroral cone is not prominent. But a small area close to the peristome is distinguishable as the region where the pronuclei fuse. The syn-karyon divides four times. Some of the division products disintegrate, after which 8 to 9 bodies are left which become differentiated into 4 to 5 macronuclear anlagen and 4 micro-nuclei. Mitotic division of the micronuclei results in their increase in number in the daughter individuals after metagamic divisions. Changes in the macronucleus during autogamy consist in its fragmentation and later absorption in the cytoplasm. There is some indirect evidence of a relationship between the dissolution of the old macronucleus and the development of the new.

Notes: An electron microscope study of Plasmodium lophurae maintained in vivo and in vitro provided information concerning the sequence of events during reproduction, and the role of the cytoplasm in this process.Contrary to the generally held opinion that nuclear fissions precede cytoplasmic division, it was found that the last nuclear fission takes place during advanced stages of cytoplasmic segmentation. This study also supplied evidence that in addition to repeated nuclear divisions, a number of changes occur in all major components of the cytoplasm. These changes are considered as preparatory for reproduction. The cytoplasm continues to be active during the formation of merozoites. At this stage a segregation of cytoplasmic components takes place resulting in the incorporation into the offspring of a condensed cytoplasm containing all the organelles. The watery part of the cytoplasm with the lipids and food vacuoles is withheld and at the end of reproduction forms the residual body, a separate structure bound by a membrane.

Notes: Ophryoglena hypertrophica is distinguished by its tomites and its pyriform theronts; by its elliptical and flattened macronucleus with 2 or 3 coupled micronuclei; by its large trophont; by its tomont covered with a thin mucous layer at the interior of which are formed 4 or 8 tomites closely bound one to another. Its physiological evolution is characteristic; the tomite when it comes out of the tomont undergoes a secondary encystment and then becomes the theront. Sometimes the tomite is rostrated and is not attracted by the tissues; the tomite undergoes as before a secondary encystment, but divides inside the cyst. This type also produces complete or partial particular palintomies and regularly forms resistant cysts.

Notes: Intraspecific chemotaxis between gametes was demonstrated in Chlamydomonas moewusii Gerloff var. rotunda nov. var. which was previously used as C. sp. 24 (Tsubo Y. 1957). a heterothallic isogamous species from Japan. The reaction is unidirectional; the “+” gametes are attracted by the “—” gametes or cell-free supernatant of medium in which the :“-” gametes were suspended. In a study with 4 other isogamous heterothallic Chlamydomonas — C. moewusii Gerloff, C. eugametos Moewus, C. reinhardi Dangeard, and C. morewusii Gerloff var. tenuichloris nov. var. — none of them revealed any intraspecific chemotactic behavior. However, as with the “—” gametes of C. moewusii var. rotunda, both mating types of C. moewusii, C. eugametos, and C. moewusii var. tenuichloris were interspecifically attracted by the supernatant of the “—” culture of C. moewusii var. rotunda. Only C. rein- hardi showed no chemotactic behavior in intra- or interspecific combinations.Although chemotaxis occurred in the above-mentioaed combinations, neither agglutination nor pairing ner zygete formation followed at all in the same combinations. The“;–” cells of C. moewusii var. rotunda killed by osmium vaper and then washed no longer produced the chemotactic agent, but did agglutinate with living “+” cells. Therefore, evidently, chemo-taxis is a separate step from agglutination and zygote-for-mation yet does not seem necessary in the mating of isoga-mous Chlamydomonas. Nonetheless, since this activity appears not in the vegetative but in the gametic stage, it seems to concern the sexual activity of the cells. In preliminary studies the chemotactic agent produced by C. moewusii var. rotunda was shown to be volatile.

Notes: A microsporidian infection in a laboratory clone of Hydra littoralis has been observed, and the parasite has been tentatively identified as a species of Plistophora. Infected hydra continue to bud and regenerate normally and show no significant physiological or morphological changes. Sexual crossing of infected and non-infected animals shows that the infection is transmitted by the ovum but not by the sperm. Continuous exposure of infected hydra to Fumidil B in solution resulted in the disappearance of all Plistophora spores after a five week period of treatment, and the clones of the treated animals have remained parasite-free for more than a year.

Notes: Patterns for free and protein amino acids and related substances were determined for Tetrahymena limacis and 7 strains of T. pyriformis from axenic stationary phase cultures grown at 25° C by means of 2-dimensional chromatography in a butanol-acetic acid and phenol solvent system with ninhydrin and other polychromatic indicators. A uniform protein amino acid (PAA) pattern was observed in all strains. There were 14 color spots indicating 19 amino acids (including cysteic acid), identified as follows: alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, cysteine/cystine, cysteic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, leucine/isoleucine/phenylalanine, lysine/histidine, proline, serine, threonine, tyrosine, valine/methionine.The following free amino acids and related substances (FAAs) were identified with 14 spots (several different from these for PAA patterns) found in all strains: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, leucine/isoleucine/phenylalanine, lysine histidine. proline, serine, threonine, tyrosine, valine/methionine. T. limacis and strains LI and Gf-J of T. pyriformis exhibited these only. Chromatograms of 5 strains of T. pyriformis (PR. F. L3 WH52, HS), however, also contained 1 to 4 spots representing certain of the following substances: Cysteic acid, cysteine/cystine, taurine, and the unknowns X1, X2, and X3, having Rf's of 0.33, 0.79, and 0.72 respectively in 4:1 phenol-H2O system Excepting for F and L3, which were similar, the T. pyriformis strains showed quite different distributional patterns of these substances at 25°C. Other deviations in the distribution of the 6 compounds were noted in the chromatograms of 10° and 35° cultures of WH52 and HS. These findings on FAAs and PAAs are tabulated, along with those of previous investigators, to furnish comparisons on 13 strains of Tetrahymena pyriformis, T. limacis and 9 other species of protozoa.

Notes: Three new species of Trypanosomatidae were isolated from three species of bugs: Leptomonas leptoglossi from Leptoglossus phyllopus, Crithidia acanthocephali from Acanthocephala femorata, and Blastocrithidia euschisti from Euschistus servus. All were cultured axenically and on avian embryo membranes. In addition to differences in morphology the three organisms displayed different growth rates in the chorio-allantoic fluids of duck and chick embryos incubated at 30°C. L. leptoglossi grew most abundantly. B. euschisti barely maintained itself while C. acanthocephali occupied an intermediate position.When the temperature of incubation was raised to 37°C, there was continued multiplication of L. leptoglossi and C. acanthocephali, but there was no growth of B. euschisti in either duck or chick embryos.It is suggested that the criteria of morphology, cultural characteristics in vitro and in vivo, plus physiological characters be used as future aids in classification of the Trypanosomatidae.

Notes: SYNOPSIS: Crithidia fasciculata was cultured in a modification of the nutrient medium described by Cowperthwaite in 1951. Carbon dioxide, lactic acid, succinic acid and ethyl alcohol were produced by the organisms during anaerobic conditions. Hexokinase, enolase, alcohol dehydrogenase and glucoses-phosphate dehydrogenase were demonstrated in ho-mogenates of the flagellates. Aldolase, phosphohexokinase and lactic acid dehydrogenase could not be demonstrated.

Notes: Application of fragmentation and thin-sectioning techniques to Tetrakymena pyriformis, Colpidium compiles and Glaucoma chattoni has permitted an analysis of the ultra-structure of their silverline and fibrillar systems. The classical silverline system consists of a mosaic of flat, membrane-bound blisters whose rims represent the sites of selective silver deposition. Cilia and protrichocysts emerge between adjacent blisters. I The pellicle consists of the membranes outlining the blisters, overlain by a continuous outer membrane that covers the whole cell and cilia. Fibrillar structures, which are not argentophilic, include: (1) tapering, striated kinetodesmal fibers arising singly from the kinetosomes, passing to the right and anteriad, and overlapping to form a loose bundle accompanying each kinety; (2) a longitudinal fibril band immediately beneath the pellicle at the right of each kinety, consisting of overlapping individual fibrils; (3) a transverse band of fibrils arising at the left side of each kinetosome and passing to the left under the pellicle; and (4) a set of postciliary fibrils arising at the right posterior edge of each kinetosome and passing posteriad under the pellicle. The fibrils of sets (2), (3), and (4) all are about 20 Mμ in diameter and appear tubular in cross-section; they are very unlike the heavier, solid kinetodesmal fibers. None of the fibril sets directly interconnect, although transverse and postciliary fibrils end in the vicinity of the longitudinal fibril band.

Notes: The structure of a cilium in Nyctotherus ovalis is that usually found: two single central filaments surrounded peripherally by nine double filaments; the whole is encased in a ciliary membrane continuous with the pellicle. The two central filaments end in a single enlarged bulb just above a septum, located at about the level of the pellicle, whereas the nine double filaments extend inward to form the cylindrical basal body, which is open at its inner end. Inside the basal body are granules àrranged in rows parallel to its sides. These granules may have significance in the origin of new basal bodies as well as in the outgrowth of new cilia. The latter may have been observed in a few instances. Parallel to the pellicle are two series of fibrils, one median and one inner, connecting adjacent basal bodies. Fibrils extend from the inner end of each basal body, these converge and extend deep into the ectoplasm, often becoming lost in a pattern of equilateral triangles, arranged to form hexagons. These features are clearly seen in the peristomial membranelles, where the basal bodies of the four rows of cilia are close together, separated from adjacent membranelles by a protoplasmic shelf and supported by a mass of fibrillar material comprising the peristomial ectoplasmic band. This broad band extends to the inner end of the peristome whence it returns along the opposite wall as a narrow mass of fibrillar ectoplasm without basal bodies. Peripherally the fibrils are condensed into fan-like bundles; internally they often form a network of equilateral triangles arranged to form hexagons, with corpuscles at the intersections. Trichite-like structures are also found in the peristomial groove and tube; these are connected to both the basal bodies and the fibrillar network.The functions, origin and development of this complex infraciliature during fission constitute one of the yet unsolved morphological problems in such complex ciliates.

Notes: Sterile Didinium nasutum were fed Paramecium Aurelia which had been grown on monofloral cultures of five different species of bacteria and on a wild mixed culture of bacteria. Didinia grown on monoflorally-fed paramenia or starved paramecia maintained a low daily division rate (0.88-2.06), and after 3 or 4 days died, frequently showing structural abnormalities before death. Didinia fed paramecia grown on a wild mixture of bacteria showed a higher division rate (4.96), did not die after 3 or 4 days, and encysted, when the food was exhausted. It is suggested that a diet consisting of monoflorally-fed or starved paramecia is inadequate for Didinium. This may be due to the lack of some substance or substances related to the enzyme system of the predator, possibly proteolytic enzymes elaborated by paramecia. In the experiments of Gause on the destruction of one species by another, his failure to establish population oscillations between Didinium and Paramecium might have been due to an inadequate diet for the didinia which resulted in their lack, of encystment and death.

Notes: The exoerythrocytic forms of Plasmodium gallinaceum in thin sections of infected tissue cultures have been examined with the electron microscope. It was seen that important changes occur in the fine structure of the parasite during the various phases of the cycle. The cytoplasm of the merozoites at the beginning and at the end of each cycle shows a great electron density due to a fine granulation. Larger granules are found at one pole of the parasite. The merozoites have a large nucleus in the center, and an oval body of great electron density at one pole, the significance of which is unknown. Short canaliculi can also be seen in the cytoplasm, but no mitochondria have been found.The cytoplasm of the schizonts shows a low electron density. It contains small particles scattered irregularly throughout its whole mass. The nuclei are not well defined; the oval body observed in the merozoites apparently has disappeared. Short canaliculi are present everywhere; however, mitochondria could not be identified with certainty.In the final phase of the cycle, in the rosette formations, the cytoplasm assumes again the fine granular structure. The future merozoites are grouped around a cytoplasmic core, with which they are directly connected. The whole segmenter is situated in a vacuole formation. In cross sections of the merozoites an opening in the central pole has been observed.

Notes: An account of conjugation in an American species of Blepharisma is given. A comparison is also made with the available knowledge of the two Indian species of this genus. In the conjugating pair, the condensed macronucleus shows Feulgen negative regions. Before the conjugants separate, the macronuclear and micronuclear anlagen become distinguishable.The species is characterized by a number of striking features which become noticeable after syngamy. The synkaryon divides thrice giving rise to 8 bodies. Of these, 3 to 7 become the macronuclear anlagen and the rest, the micronuclei. The resorption of the old macronucleus occurs much later, just before the exconjugant attains the vegetative form. No metagamic fissions occur in this species and each exconjugant becomes a vegetative animal in 5 or 6 days. During this period, the macronuclear anlagen arrange themselves in a series and develop slender connections with one another to produce the moniliform macronucleus of the vegetative animal. The micronuclear anlagen, on the other hand, divide by mitosis to attain the vegetative number. In this species 40% to 45% of the exconjugants are viable and the rest die.

Notes: Seven species of astomatous Infusoria from the alimentary tract of the Oligochaeta from Ochrida Lake are described. One of them, belonging to Hoplitophrya, shows many transitional characteristics between Juxtaradiophrya and Hoplitophrya and proves the coherence of the group Radio-phryinae-Hoplitophryinae-Mesnilellinae. Two species are Maupasellinae, parasites from Glossoscolecidae. Buchneriella and Maupasella, both parasites from Criodrilus lacuum, a cosmo politan worm, are also present in C. ohridensis, endemic species coexistent with the preceding, at Ohrid. Two other sro belong to Intoshellina. A discussion about the actual systematic state of Intoshellinidae is given, affinities of this family remaining uncertain. The two last species described are a typical Anoplophrya and a representative cf a new genus Corlissiella, having many morphological and biological similarities to the primitive thigmotrichs. Heterogeneity of the Anoplophryidae is discussed.

Notes: A small reversible A.C. motor is utilized in the construction of a device to tighten and loosen the caps of screw-cap test tubes.

Notes: A new species of Coccidia, Eimeria neosciuri sp. now, has been described from the squirrel host, Sciurns (Neo-sciurus) carolinensis. The oocysts (21.8-28.0 ju X 13.7-18.1) are elliptical in shape without a visible micropyle. The sporo- cysts are oval with protruding nipple. The endogenous stase; of this species occur in the epithelial cells of the villi of the upper ileum. Oocyst production declines in about a fortnight after a rise to its maximum during the first 6-10 days.

Notes: Ergosterol was isolated from the non-saponifiable lipids of Euglena. For this, after saponification of the cells, the petroleum-ether extract was chromatographed on deactivated alumina. Development was achieved by pet. ether and 10% (v/v) benzene in pet. ether, and the sterol fraction was subsequently eluted with 10% (v/v) ethyl acetate in pet. ether. This sterol was identified as ergosterol by a) precipitation with digitonin, b) The Liebermann-Burchard reaction, c) co-chromatography with known ergosterol, d) ultraviolet absorption spectrum, e) conversion to the acetate with determination of the melting and mixed melting points and !” infra-red absorption spectrum of the acetate derivative. By these techniques, ergosterol content was measured in the-following strains of Euglena gracilis under various conditions of nutrition and illumination: bacillaris and Z strains, and several albino and pigment mutants derived from them. A. functional chloroplast seems unnecessary for ergosterol synthesis; the ergosterol content of cells (dry weight basis) was constant regardless of strain and growth conditions.

Notes: The structure of the excretory apparatus of Paramecium caudatum and P. aurelia was studied in electro-micrographs of ultrathin sections. The so-called nephridial plasma visible in light microscopy was revealed as a network of fine branching tubules (nephridial tubules), of average diameter about 200 Å, which surround the nephridial canals. The nephridial tubules are connected peripherally directly to branches of the endoplasmic reticulum, which extends throughout the organism. During diastole of the radial canals the nephridial tubules open into the nephridial canals, but this connection is broken during systole. Surrounding the nephridial plasma are bundles of larger tubular elements (about 500 Å diameter).The osmiophile wall of the terminal nephridial canal continues without change in the walls of the ampulla, the injection canal and the contractile vacuole. Contractile fibrillar elements, arranged in fiat band-like bundles and of tubular structure (about 150-250 A diameter) without periodic cross-striations, begin at the top of the ampulla and extend, along the surface facing the pellicle, over the injection canal and contractile vacuole to the excretory canal, which they surround as a spiral envelope.The closing of the contractile vacuole to the excretory canal is effected by a relatively compact membrane without pores, so that the emptying of the vacuole must follow breaking of this membrane. The function of the excretory system is discussed in the light of these new observations.

Notes: Nucleic acid, the nitrogen content per cell, and cell and nuclear volume were determined in 4 green and 2 heat-induced colorless strains of Euglena gracilis and one strain of Astasia longa. All strains of Euglena were identical in cell and nuclear volume. The deoxyribonucleic acid content per cell of the apoplastidic strains was higher than that of the corresponding green strains by I1/, times. Although their nuclei were not enlarged, Feulgen staining of the colorless strains was also more intense. The significance of the increase in DNA in experimentally induced apoplastidy is discussed. As for N total nucleic acid P, and pentosenucleic acid—the dir between the strains reflected previously established morphological and physiological relationships between them. The single strain of Astasia studied was identical in stru: and size with the apoplastidic Euglena stnMH Hownner. it was quite unlike them in all the biochemical characteristic; examined.

Notes: . Norlevinea n. g. is established for microsporidia in which a uninucleate meront changes into a sporont by secreting a thin, membranous, sporontogcnetic and fragile sporophorous vesicle (pansporoblast membrane) in which four uninucleate sporoblasts are formed. In contrast to the genus Gurleya, the sporoblasts and later the spores are permanently joined into doublets, being laterally cemented by an electron-dense substance structurally identical to and continuous with the exospore layer. The polar filament is of the anisofilar type. The type species is Norlevinea daphniae (Weiser, 1947) n. comb., a parasite of the ovaries of Daphnia longispina occurring in several carp ponds in Czechoslovakia.

Notes: . The microsporidian parasite known as Nosema helminthorum Moniez, 1887, parasitic in the tapeworm Moniezia expansa (Rudolphi, 1810), has been shown by electron microscopy to have two cycles of development, one with isolated nuclei, the other with paired nuclei (diplokarya). Both merogony and sporogony of the two separate sequences take place in direct contact with the host cell cytoplasm and ultimately give rise to unikaryotic and diplokaryotic sporoblasts. Sporogony is disporoblastic. The nuclear condition of the spores was not seen. The sequences, corresponding to those of the genera Unikaryon and Nosema, may be part of a single dimorphic life cycle and, if so, the species will have to be transferred to a new genus.

Notes: . Sarcocystis falcatula Stiles, 1893 is re-described. Intermediate hosts of the parasite which was earlier described as Sarcocystis debonei Vogelsang, 1929 are species of passeriform, psittaciform, and columbiform birds. In these birds, muscle zoites are 6.88 × 2.19 (4.8-8.4 × 1.2-3.6) μm and are enclosed in a cyst wall with regular protrusions, 1-5 μm long. The convoluted primary wall has multiple thin areas in the osmiophilic layer. Microtubules originate in the ground substance and extend to the tips of the protrusions. The only known definitive host is the opossum, Didelphis virginiana; rats, cats, a dog, and a ferret could not be infected from muscle cysts. Sporocysts from opossums infected from five different infected avian sources measure 11.2 × 7.4 (9.6−12.0 × 6.0-8.4)μm.

Notes: . Descriptions are given of two new species of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 found in the pygmy squirrel, Idiurus macrotis, in the Ivory Coast. Gamonts of both are parasites of monocytes.The size and shape of the gamonts of one, H. normani n. sp., are similar to those of a number of gamonts of other species of rodent hemogregarines and the separate identity of the parasite is based on the host restriction of mammalian hemogregarines. The gamonts of the other species, H. dolichomorphon n. sp., are remarkably long and slender and are unlike those of any other known hemogregarine of mammals. Schizonts of this species were found in a smear prepared from heart blood.

Notes: . The presence of nonvariant antigens (NVAs) limited to bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense was demonstrated for the first time by immunodiffusion and Immunoelectrophoresis. Noncloned and cloned populations were employed in preparation of polyclonal antisera in rabbits and of antigens to be used in the immunologic reactions. The NVAs could be shown best in systems in which hyperimmune rabbit sera (adsorbed with procyclic forms to eliminate antibodies against antigens common to bloodstream form and procyclic stages) were reacted with trypanosomes characterized by heterologous variant-specific antigens (VSAs).The NVAs demonstrated in this study are very likely different from the common parts of VSAs. As has been suggested by experiments with living trypanosomes, at least a part of the NVAs appears to be located on the surface of the bloodstream forms. In these experiments involving the quantitative indirect fluorescent antibody test, the amount of fluorescence recorded for the heterologous system, i.e. ETat 5 trypanosomes incubated with anti-AmTat 1.1 serum, equalled ∼3.0% of the fluorescence emitted by the AmTat 1.1 bloodstream forms treated with their homologous antiserum. Evidently, only small amounts of NVAs are present on the surfaces of T. brucei bloodstream forms.In addition to the NVAs, the electrophoresis results suggested the presence of antigenic differences between procyclic stages belonging to different T. brucei stocks.

Notes: . Late schizonts from continuous cultures of P. falciparum were concentrated over Percoll, inoculated to various experimental media at the rate of about 20 × 106 per 0.5 ml of medium, and incubated in a candle jar at 37° for 1 day. Controls in standard culture medium showed a heavy invasion with young rings in the previously uninfected red cells introduced with the inoculum of schizonts. In a medium of high potassium content containing a 33% extract of human erythrocytes, this invasion was inhibited and many free merozoites were present. If, however, this same medium was supplemented with both ATP, as the dipotassium salt at 1.6 mM, and sodium pyruvate at 3.6 mM, there appeared large numbers of extracellular forms resembling young rings. Examination of these by electron microscopy shows that they are indeed merozoites that have begun to differentiate extracellularly. This suggests that the trigger for differentiation of merozoites may not depend on the process of entry into a red cell but rather on specific factors within the red cell.

Notes: . Opossums (Didelphis marsupialis), act as intermediate hosts for Besnoitia darlingi and could be infected orally with sporozoites (oocysts) and bradyzoites (tissue cysts), or intraperitoneally (i.p.) with tachyzoites. Infections could presumably be transmitted through cannibalism. Cats (Felis catus), the definitive host, could be infected only with bradyzoites but not sporozoites. Oocysts shed by cats measure about 12 × 12 μm, resemble similarly sized oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii and Hammondia hammondi, and must be differentiated by the appearance of tissue cysts after experimental infection of intermediate hosts. Cats did not form tissue cysts of B. darlingi. Tachyzoites from the related B. jellisoni could be used in the Sabin-Feldman dye test to determine the development of antibody to B. darlingi in opossums after infection.

Notes: Developmental stages of Caryospora simplex were found in connective tissue of the cheek, tongue, and nose of Swiss-Webster and C57 BL/6 mice (Mus musculus) from 8 through 70 days after oral inoculation with 50,000 or 250,000 oocysts, or 60,000 free sporocysts of the same species obtained from an Ottoman viper, Vipera xanthina xanthina. The earliest developmental stages were seen on day 8 post-inoculation (PI) and consisted of two types of meronts and gamonts (undifferentiated sexual stages). Gamonts, microgametocytes, macrogametes, and unsporulated oocysts were found on days 10 and 12 PI. Fully sporulated, thin-walled oocysts containing eight sporozoites surrounded by a thin sporocyst membrane were first seen 12 days PI. Monozoic cysts (caryocysts) were first seen 12 days PI and appeared fully viable throughout the duration of the study, 70 days PI. Four mice injected intra-peritoneally with 150,000 free sporozoites and killed 12 days PI contained unsporulated and sporulated oocysts in connective tissues of the cheek, tongue, and nose, suggesting that sporozoites may be carried to the site of infection via the lymphatic/circulatory system. Four cotton rats, Sigmodon hispidus, inoculated orally with 250,000 oocysts all had unsporulated and sporulated oocysts of C. simplex in connective tissue of the cheek, tongue, and nose when killed on day 12 PI, indicating extraintestinal development in the secondary host is not species specific. This is the first report of a heteroxenous coccidium with both asexual and sexual development in the primary (predator) and secondary (prey) hosts.

Notes: Trypanosoma lucknowi n. sp. was isolated in culture from one of 126 Macaca mulatta originating from the vicinity of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Trypanosoma lucknowi is distinctive because of the large number of epimastigotes and trypomastigotes which, in culture, exhibit no movement or only a slight bending of the flagellar end. This limited motility coincides with a free flagellum which is either completely absent or rudimentary. The microorganism is cloned readily, and the description is based upon such cultures. Trypanosoma lucknowi shows pronounced differences from other trypanosomes of South Asian macaques and from “aflagellar” African trypanosomes. The ultrastructural demonstration of a cytostome and contractile vacuole suggests ultimate grouping with stercorarian trypanosomes. A 3-D reconstruction of the flagellar pocket/cytostome region is included.

Notes: The ultrastructure of the freshwater, heterotrophic dinoflagellate Peridiniopsis berolinense (Lemm.) Bourrelly resembles other dinoflagellates in the structure of its nucleus, theca, flagella, and mitochondria. Other features less frequently reported in related organisms include fine sub-sulcal fibers, collared pits in the flagellar base region, and unusual structures herein termed fibrillar lamellae. Numerous vesicles are present, some of whose contents are distinctly crystalline, while others contain what appears to be membranous material arranged in either whorls or parallel stacks; still other vesicles contain electron-dense, granular spheres. Of particular interest is the transitional helix present in the longitudinal flagellum, this being the first report of such a structure among the dinoflagellates. Plastids of any kind are lacking, and a peduncle is present and is used during phagotrophy.

Notes: Several axenic strains of pathogenic and nonpathogenic Entamoeba histolytica were tested for their capacity to digest native radioactive type I collagen gels and to produce liver abscesses when injected into the liver of newborn hamsters. The results demonstrate that the pathogenic strains of amebas (HM1:IMSS, HM3:IMSS, HM38:IMSS, and HK9) have a collagenolytic activity that closely correlates with their in vivo capacity to produce liver lesions. The nonpathogenic isolate (Laredo) did not show collagenolytic activity and failed to produce lesions in the liver of newborn hamsters. The results also demonstrate that type I collagen obtained from rodents and cats is degraded less by amebic collagenase than is bovine collagen, which is similar to human collagen. These findings suggest that species susceptibility to invasive infection may depend, among other factors, on the characteristics of the extracellular components of host tissues.

Notes: At Makthlawaiya, in the Paraguayan Chaco, the prevalence of Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi infection among both domestic Triatoma infestans and domestic dogs was 38%, and IgG anti-T. cruzi antibody was detected by the quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 80% (105/133) of human sera. Ninety percent (25/28) of T. cruzi strains isolated from both T. infestans and dogs showed heterozygous isoenzyme profiles for glucose phosphate isomerase, phosphoglucomutase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. These strains appeared to be closely related to Bolivian zymodeme 2. Three Paraguayan T. cruzi strains showed homozygous isoenzyme profiles, similar to those of major Brazilian zymodemes. It was concluded that T. cruzi strains with heterozygous isoenzyme profiles predominate in domestic transmission cycles in this highly endemic area of the Paraguayan Chaco.

Notes: Results obtained in immunofluorescence localization studies involving three antisera, six species of ciliates, and a variety of fixation procedures suggest that superior results can often be obtained by fixing cells in 35–70% ethanol. Formaldehyde fixation appeared to induce redistributions of epiplasmic proteins and surface antigens which were not observed in ethanol-fixed cells. In addition, background fluorescence was significantly lower in ethanol-fixed cells than it was in cells fixed in aldehydes.

Notes: Actin has been identified in the ciliated protozoon Tetrahymena paravorax on the basis of the ultrastructural detection of filaments typically decorated with heavy meromyosin (HMM) in glycerinated microstome cells. These filaments are widely distributed in endoplasmic and cortical regions and can form bundles. They are particularly numerous in elongating cells; HMM-binding filaments run approximately parallel to rib microtubules in the ectoplasm of the right wall of the buccal cavity and seem to extend to the cytopharyngeal region, suggesting some role of actin in maintenance of the crest-trough pattern of ribbed wall and/or in formation of food vacuoles. Extensive actin bundles are observed below some membranellar areas and are thought to follow the course of the microtubular “deep fiber bundle.” The “fine filamentous reticulum” underlying the oral ribs and the “apical ring” extending beneath kinetosomes of ciliary couplets display filaments that do not bind HMM and are ˜ 14 nm in diameter. No evidence for actin in these structures was obtained in the present study. The “specialized cytoplasm” of the cytostome-cytopharyngeal region appears as an undecorated reticulum with 20 nm-spaced nodes. Occasionally HMM-binding filaments were found inside the macronucleus, just beneath its envelope. Actin is suggested to be involved in cell shaping and in control of the transport of food vacuoles.

Notes: Two allelic Mendelian mutations which confer a short flagella phenotype were used to explore flagellar size control in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. When mutant/wild type quadriflagellate dikaryon cells were constructed, their two short flagella rapidly grew out to near wild type length. The kinetics of elongation suggest that the flagellar assembly process is not intrinsically self-limiting as a number of otherwise attractive models for size control require. Instead, we suggest that there exists a cellular machinery dedicated to flagellar size control and that the short-flagella mutations alter the machinery in some as yet unknown way. One of the mutants shows temperature-sensitive flagellar assembly, and both are flagellaless in acetate media. Genetic analysis indicates that the temperaturesensitive, acetate-sensitive, and short-flagella phenotypes have a common genetic basis. The responsible gene has been named shf-1, and it has been mapped to chromosome VI, approximately 5 map units from the centromere.

Notes: Fourteen strains of Naegleria australiensis, including the type strain, were compared for virulence for mice, maximum growth temperature, lectin agglutination, isoenzyme pattern, and total protein banding pattern. Their relation to other species of Naegleria also was compared by immunoelectrophoretic analysis. Strains with high virulence, comparable to that of N. fowleri, were found to be different in concanavalin A agglutination as well as with regard to zymograms and total protein patterns. Although serologically different from N. fowleri and reacting with N. australiensis antiserum in the fluorescent antibody test, these high-virulence strains differed in number of immunoelectrophoretic precipitin bands. Because of these results, the high-virulence strains are considered to be a subspecies of N. australiensis. The low-virulence strains showed minor differences from the type strain. Thus, N. australiensis does not appear to be as homogenous a species as N. fowleri. Pathogenic N. australiensis also seems to be more widespread than previously thought.

Notes: In Pleurotricha lanceolata, the ventral somatic infraciliature presents 13 frontoventral cirri, 5 transverse cirri, one row with 18–19 left marginal cirri and two rows of right marginal cirri of different length. On the dorsal side there are six longitudinal rows of dorsal bristles, four of them bipolar and the other two less than half body length. The oral infraciliature includes the adoral zone of membranelles, with 45–55 membranelles of three or four rows of kinetosomes each, and two undulating membranes (paroral and endoral membranes), each with two rows of kinetosomes. Some structures of the oral and somatic fibrillar systems have also been examined and are similar to those described in other species of hypotrichous ciliates.

Notes: Fecal samples of 36 ground squirrels, Spermophilus beldingi, from Tioga Pass (elev. ca. 3315 m) in the Sierra Nevada, California, yielded oocysts of Eimeria beckeri in nine squirrels, E. citelli in four squirrels, E. beldingii n. sp. in two squirrels, and degenerated, unidentifiable oocysts in ten squirrels. Eimeria beldingii n. sp. oocysts are ellipsoidal, 30–34 × 24–30 (mean 32 × 26) μm with a two-layered, rough, striated wall, without a micropyle or residuum, with polar granules; they contain ellipsoidal or ovoid sporocysts 11–15 × 9–12 (mean 13 × 10) μm with a Stieda body and residuum.

Notes: Ten years of research on digestive vacuoles (phagosomes) of Paramecium caudatum have revealed sequential changes both within the vacuole lumen as well as within the surrounding membrane. Four vacuole stages can be recognized by a combination of thin section and freeze-fracture ultrastructural features. Three sets of vesicles (discoidal vesicles, acidosomes, and lysosomes) fuse with the vacuole, each at a predetermined stage, to bring about these membrane and physiological changes. At various times membrane is removed as vesicles from the vacuole surface, which has the effect of regulating vacuole size. Membrane recycling, membrane replacement, and specific membrane to membrane recognition all appear to be operating during the digestive cycle. Details of these events are summarized in this address and a number of unanswered questions suggest areas for future research.

Notes: Reports of Cryptosporidium in various hosts and cross-transmission experiments are reviewed. Cryptosporidium has been found in mammals (Primates, Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, Carnivora, Lagomorpha, and Rodentia), birds, reptiles, and fish. The only cross-transmission attempts that have been made have been from mammals to other mammals and to a few birds. Names have been given to 19 “species,” but it is concluded that only four of these should be considered valid at present. These are: C. muris Tyzzer, 1907 in mammals, C. meleagridis Slavin, 1955 in birds, C. crotali Triffit, 1925 in reptiles, and C. nasorum Hoover, Hoerr, Carlton, Hinsman & Ferguson, 1981 in fish.

Notes: In vitro excystation of sporozoites of the heteroxenous coccidian Caryospora simplex Léger, 1904 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriorina) is described. Sporocysts freed mechanically from oocysts released a maximum of 51% of their sporozoites within 45 min at 25°C and a maximum of 74% within 20 min at 37°C when incubated in a 0.25% (w/v) trypsin–0.75% (w/v) sodium taurocholate (bile salt) excystation solution. At emergence from sporocysts, sporozoites were weakly motile then became highly active after about 2 min in excystation solution. Sporozoites within sporocysts exposed to bile salt only became highly motile within 25 min at 25°C and within 15 min at 37°C but did not excyst. When exposed only to trypsin at the above temperatures, the Stieda body dissolved; the substieda body remained intact, and the sporozoites exhibited only limited motility within sporocysts; only a few excysted. Intact, sporulated oocysts incubated at 25° or 37°C in 0.02 M cysteine-HC1 and a 50% CO2 atmosphere for 18 h had no morphologic changes in the oocyst wall. Further incubation of these intact oocysts in excystation solution for 30 min at 37°C caused neither motility of sporozoites within sporocysts nor excystation. Grinding oocysts for 30 sec in a motor-driven, teflon-coated tissue grinder caused motility of some sporozoites within sporocysts but did not result in excystation.

Notes: The effect of the cationic permeant fluorescent dye, rhodamine 123 (R123), on the in vivo growth of Plasmodium yoelii was examined. Plasmodium yoelii-infected mouse erythrocytes were incubated in vitro with R123 and injected intravenously into mice. Examination of daily parasitemias showed that R123 delayed parasite growth whereas rhodamine 110, a neutral compound, and fluorescein, a negatively charged fluorescent dye, did not. Infected erythrocytes treated with R123 were not cleared from the circulation even 7 h after injection. Quantitation of cell-associated R123 by spectrophotometry revealed that infected cells with increased levels of R123 considerably prolonged the 2% prepatent period, the time required for the parasite to develop a 2% parasitemia. Degenerating parasites within and outside the host erythrocytes were observed on day 1 of infection in the mice. Thus it follows that R123, which accumulated in infected erythrocytes, inhibits the growth of P. yoelii; moreover, when R123-labeled infected erythrocytes were treated with 1–10 μM carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), a proton ionophore, to release R123 from the cells, the inhibitory effect on the growth rate of P. yoelii was partially reversed.

Notes: Oocysts of Caryospora corallae n. sp. were isolated from the feces of three Emerald Tree Boas Corallus caninus. The spherical oocysts of C. corallae averaged 22.4 μn (range 18.7 to 24.6) in diameter and were lacking a micropyle and oocyst residuum; a polar granule was present. The ovoid sporocysts measured 19.1(17.6-20.0) × 13.1(11.7-14.0) μm and a sporocyst residuum and a Stieda body were present. The oocyst wall was approximately 1 μm thick. The sporulation was completed in about 5–6 days at 23 ± 2°C. This is the first report of the genus Caryospora from Corallus caninus a member of the Boidae.

Notes: One third of a collection of cloned Stylonychia pustulata micronuclear DNA PstI fragments were found to be of a similar size, consistent with their being members of a repetitious sequence family with a repeat size of about 160 base pairs. Cross-hybridization experiments confirmed that these small cloned fragments are related by sequence homology. Hybridization of the cloned repetitious sequences to PstI digested micronuclear DNA revealed a “ladder” of bands (step size = 160 base pairs), indicating that the repeats are found in tandem arrays. This is the first demonstration of highly repetitious, tandemly repeated sequences in a ciliated protozoan.

Notes: The erythrocytic developmental cycle of Plasmodium falciparum can be conveniently divided into the ring, trophozoite, and schizont stages based on morphology and metabolism. Using highly synchronous cultures of P. falciparum, considerable variation was demonstrated among these stages in sensitivity to chloroquine. The effects of timed, sequential exposure to several clinically relevant concentrations of chloroquine were monitored by three techniques: morphological analysis, changes in the rate of glucose consumption, and changes in the incorporation of 3H-hypoxanthine into parasite nucleic acids. All three techniques gave essentially identical results. The trophozoite and schizont stages were considerably more sensitive to the drug than ring-stage parasites. Chloroquine sensitivity decreased as nuclear division neared completion. The increase in chloroquine sensitivity was coincident with a marked rise in the rate of glucose consumption and nucleic acid synthesis. The rate of nucleic acid synthesis decreased as schizogony progressed while glucose consumption continued at high rates during this process. The degree of chloroquine sensitivity was not highly correlated with either metabolic activity.

Notes: Bloodstream trypomastigote and culture procyclic (insect midgut) forms of a cloned T. rhodesiense variant (WRATat 1) were tested for agglutination with the lectins concanavalin A (Con A), phytohemagglutinin P (PP), soybean agglutinin (SBA), fucose binding protein (FBP), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), and castor bean lectin (RCA). Fluorescence-microscopic localization of lectin binding to both formalin-fixed trypomastigotes and red cells was determined with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated Con A, SBA, FBP, WGA, RCA, PNA (peanut agglutinin), DBA (Dolichos bifloris), and UEA (Ulex europaeus) lectins. Electron microscopic localization of lectin binding sites on bloodstream trypomastigotes was accomplished by the Con A-horseradish peroxidase-diaminobenzidine (HRP-DAB) technique, and by a Con A-biotin/avidin-ferritin method. Trypomastigotes, isolated by centrifugation or filtration through DEAE-cellulose or thawed after cryopreservation, were agglutinated by the lectins Con A and PP with agglutination strength scored as Con A 〈 PP. No agglutination was observed in control preparations or with the lectins WGA, FBA or SBA. Red cells were agglutinated by all the lectins tested. Formalin-fixed bloodstream trypomastigotes bound FITC-Con A and FITC-RCA but not FITC-WGA, -SBA, -PNA, -UEA or -DBA lectins. All FITC-labeled lectins bound to red cells. Con A receptors, visualized by Con A-HRP-DAB and Con A-biotin/avidin-ferritin techniques, were distributed uniformly on T. rhodesiense bloodstream forms. No lectin receptors were visualized on control preparations. Culture procyclics lacked a cell surface coat and were agglutinated by Con A and WGA but not RCA, SBA, PP and FBP. Procyclics were not agglutinated by lectins in the presence of competing sugar at 0.25 M. The expression of lectin binding cell surface saccharides of T. rhodesiense WRATat 1 is related to the parasite stage. Sugars resembling α-D-mannose are on the surface of bloodstream trypomastigotes and culture procyclics; n-acetyl-D-galactosamine and D-galactose residues are on bloodstream forms; and n-acetyl-D-glucosamine-like sugars are on procyclic stages.

Notes: The cationic permeant fluorescent dye rhodamine 123 (R123) was used to stain Plasmodium yoelii-infected mouse erythrocytes. Fluorescence microscopic observations demonstrated that the parasite, but not the matrix of the infected erythrocyte, accumulated the dye. Differences in fluorescence intensity could not be found at the various developmental stages of the parasite; however, quantitation of the cell-associated dye revealed an increase in R123 uptake with parasite development. The retention of the parasite-associated dye, as measured by fluorescence microscopy and spectrophotometry after extraction of R123 with butanol, was markedly reduced by treatment of the infected erythrocytes with a proton ionophore, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), and an inhibitor of proton ATPase, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD). These results indicate that the accumulation and retention of R123 in P. yoelii reflect the parasite membrane potential and suggest that the parasite plasma membrane has a membrane potential-generating proton pump.

Notes: Distinctive organic-walled resting cysts of at least three different types with a highly conservative morphology appear to characterize specific orders or groups of genera within the Class Polyhymenophorea (Protozoa, Ciliophora), contrasting markedly with the great diversity of form seen in trophic stages. Polyhymenophorean ciliates have been considered in the past to form a cohesive class within the Phylum Ciliophora and, possibly, to represent the pinnacle of ciliate evolution. Evidence from cysts challenges the cohesive nature of the class, suggesting that the hypotrichs should be subdivided and that they have a different phylogenetic origin from the heterotrichs, tintinnids, and oligotrichs.

Notes: Yellow-brown, algal symbionts varying in diameter from approximately 5 μ m to 20 μ m, associated with solitary Radiolaria with spongiose skeletons (i.e. Spongodrymus sp.), exhibit fine structural features resembling the Prymnesiida (botanical class, Prymnesiophyceae). A large central vacuole is surrounded by a thin layer of cytoplasm containing plastids with lamellae composed of three thylakoids and granular pyrenoids with internal tubules immersed between the thylakoids. The pyrenoids lack internal thylakoid membranes. The nucleus is surrounded by a dilated cisterna of the nuclear envelope that also encloses the plastids and gives rise to saccules of the endoplasmic reticulum. The algal symbionts appear coccoid; hence no flagella nor surface scales were observed. The symbiont fine structure is compared to similar yellow-brown symbionts associated with Acantharia. Thus far, three kinds of algal symbionts have been observed to be associated with solitary Radiolaria: dinoflagellate, prasinomonad, and this apparent prymnesiomonad.

Notes: Ultrastructural observations of the cortically-located mitochondria of Tetrahymena thermophila revealed associations not only between the mitochondria and certain of the cortical microtubule bands, but also between the mitochondria and the epiplasm of the cortex. Most of the distal mitochondrial surface is close and parallel to the epiplasm; favorable views show bridge-like structures spanning the 20–10 nm gap between the mitochondrion and the epiplasm.Previous studies have shown that the placement of mitochondria in the cortex appears to be determined by certain of the cortical microtubule bands. This study, however, shows that mitochondrion-microtubule interactions account for only a small proportion of the total mitochondrial area associated with the cortex; the rest is accounted for by the epiplasm. A possible analogue of the spectrin layer of erythrocyte membranes, the epiplasm may be important in helping to arrange the intricately organized components of the ciliate cortex. Its involvement in apparently helping to “moor” mitochondria to their cortical sites is the first suggestion of any role in cell patterning played by the epiplasm.

Notes: Ce Tetradimorpha, rencontre en eau douce se présente soit sous forme sphérique pourvue de quatre flagelles et d'axopodes rayonnants, soit sous forme allongée avec a l'avant quatre flagelles associes a quatre axopodes et a l'arriére six a huit axopodes divergents. L'etude ultrastructurale révèle un cytosquelette axopodial de type centroplastidie comprenant un centroplaste lenticulaire homogéne, centre organisateur des quatre axopodes anterieurs et des six a huit axopodes posterieurs, auquel s'ajoutent les quatre cinetosomes des flagelles anterieurs. En outre, un deuxiéme éleément cytosquelettique incluant un microtubule associe chacun des quatre cinetosomes a l'axopode antérieur correspondant. Des cordons microfibrillaires réunissent axopodes et cinetosomes au niveau du centroplaste, puis a quelque distance du centroplaste les axopodes posterieurs. Les axonémes des axopodes comprenant de 5 a 30 microtubules sont constitues de triades, lorsqu'on peut détecter une organisation. Le noyau, a nucléole central est coince dans le cone axopodial posterieur, lui-méme entouré des dictyosomes. Par l'organisation du cytosquelette, par la structure des kinétocystes, par la structure des flagelles dépourvus de mastigonémes tubulaires, Tetradimorpha différe nettement de Ciliophrys marina. Comme le prévoyait Davidson (1975), il represönte bien un des chainons dans la série évolutive des Héliozoaires centrohélidiens. Mais il ne présente guère d'affinites avec les Chrysomonadines considerees comme la souche des Héliozoaires. L'intéret de ce Protiste dans l'étude de la differentiation et de l'evolution du cytosquelette est également présente.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ABSTRACTThis freshwater species of Tetradimorpha has a spherical body with four flagella and radiating axopods; it transforms into a pear-shaped cell that anteriorly has four flagella intercalated between four axopods and posteriorly has six to eight divergent axopods. Ultrastructural study reveals an axopodial cytoskeleton of the centrohelidan type comprising an homogeneous lenticular centroplast which acts as MTOC for axopodial microtubules. A second skeletal element is a microtubular linkage between the kinetosomes and the axonemes of anterior axopods. A microtubule embedded in dense material diverges from near the base of each kinetosomes and parallels the distal portion of the axoneme of each anterior axopod. A microfibrillar envelope around the centroplast links the axopodial bases to the kinetosomes situated just above. Close to the centroplast, microfibrillar strands link the axopodial axonemes to the kinetosomes. Axopodial axonemes are composed of 5 to 30 microtubules irregularly arranged except for some that form equilateral triangles. The nucleus containing a central nucleolus is constrained within a cone formed by the axonemes of the posterior axopods and surrounded by dictyosomes. By the cytoskeletal organization, the structure of kinetocysts, and flagella wthout tubular mastigonemes, Tetradimorpha differs obviously from Ciliophrys marina. As Davidson (1975) predicted, Tetradimorpha is an intermediate link in the centrohelidan lineage: however, it lacks the characteristics of chrysomonads, the supposed ancestors of Heliozoa. The contribution of this genus to the study of the differentiation and the evolution of the cytoskeleton is also presented and discussed.

Notes: Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to identify the patterns of protein synthesis during initiation, and the patterns of membrane protein expression following initiation, in all of the mating types of the Tetrahymena thermophila B family. In addition, one-dimensional analysis was used to survey 125I-Concanavalin A-binding proteins. Although a large number of proteins was identified by each technique, no variation among the mating types was observed.

Notes: Cells of Tetrahymena pyriformis, T. thermophila, and Euglena gracilis were saturated with nitrogen gas at pressures up to 300 atm and rapidly decompressed. Damage was assessed by measuring post-decompression cell fragmentation or viability. Occurrence of intracellular bubbles was determined by cinephotomicrography performed during the decompression or by direct observations afterwards. The extreme gas supersaturations induced led to intracellular bubble formation and rupture in cells of Tetrahymena that contained food vacuoles, but only with supersaturations of 175 atm or higher; 225 atm left few cells intact. Bubbles were never observed in cells of Euglena or in Tetrahymena cells freed of food vacuoles, even when they were decompressed from substantially higher nitrogen supersaturations. Cells of Euglena were most resistant and were unaffected by supersaturations up to 250 atm.

Notes: The rapid, synchronous differentiation of N. gruberi from amoebae to flagellates is a useful paradigm to study aspects of cell differentiation, including regulation of the synthesis of proteins that are related to the changes in cell shape and motility, which occur during differentiation. The differentiation requires synthesis of new RNA and protein molecules to accomplish defined morphogenetic events. Specific new proteins, including the tubulins that form the flagellar microtubules, are synthesized at various times during differentiation, and particular mRNA species appear and disappear. The time course of the synthesis of the α and β subunits of flagellar tubulin is paralleled by the programmed appearance and disappearance of flagellar tubulin mRNAs. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the synthesis of flagellar tubulin is regulated by the transcription, and subsequent disappearance, of flagellar tubulin mRNA. Translatable mRNAs for two calmodulin-like calcium-binding proteins appear and disappear contemporaneously with those for flagellar tubulin. During differentiation the synthesis of actin, the major protein of amoebae, is selectively shut down, and translatable actin mRNA rapidly disappears. This description of the orderly appearance, utilization, and disappearance of the mRNAs for actin, calcium-binding proteins, and flagellar tubulin during differentiation provides means and motivation to investigate the mechanisms that regulate these events.

Notes: Earlier experimental work involving macronuclear implants in Stentor coeruleus has shown that the cytoplasmic cortex of the nuclear site 1) attracts the macronucleus and 2) holds it in place during interphase. Now experiments indicate macronuclei transferred with overlying cortex elongate in the direction of the transferred cortical pigment stripes, whether or not the transferred stripes realign in the direction of the host stentor's stripes. Therefore the third function of the cortex is to determine the direction of elongation and thus assure that both daughter cells at division receive part of the macronucleus.

Notes: During an electron microscopic study of Glugea stephani, three morphologically distinct tubular appendages that are continuous with the sporoblast plasmalemma were observed. The tubules were designated as: type I, 45–50 nm in diameter and 600–900 nm in length; type II, 25–35 nm in diameter, averaging 1300 nm in length; type III, 50–70 nm in diameter and with an indeterminate length, which often exceeds 3000 nm. Type III tubules contain regularly spaced, electron-dense particles that are approximately 30 nm in diameter. Since many genera of microsporida have some type of appendage, which may eventually be utilized for taxonomic purposes, we propose the formation of a system of serially numbered detailed descriptions of these structures to promote uniformity and clarity in future publications.

Notes: Cells of Paramecium tetraurelia, stock hrd, cultured in a micro-capillary containing 1 μl fresh culture medium, expressed mating activity through the whole cell cycle. Mating-reactive G2 phase cells can conjugate with cells of other phases. The G2 phase cells, which have double (4C) the normal micronuclear DNA content, undergo pre-meiotic DNA synthesis when conjugated with G1 phase cells. The micronucleus of the progeny from the cross between a G1 and a G2 cell becomes triploid.

Notes: Buffered solutions of KCl and NaCl were tested for their stimulatory effect on the germination of variously-aged spores of Vavraia culicis. Germination was optimal in 0.2 M KCl, pH 6.5 for one isolate, and, for another isolate, peaks of germination occurred at pH 7.0 and 9.5. Spores incubated for several hours in suboptimal solutions became unable to germinate under optimal conditions. After being returned to water, they regained their ability to germinate. Calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and ammonium chloride inhibited germination. After ingestion by mosquito larvae, spores germinated near the posterior end of the midgut.

Notes: . Leishmania tropica promastigotes transport α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB), the nonmetabolizable analog of neutral amino acids, against a substantial concentration gradient. AIB is not incorporated into cellular material but accumulates within the cells in an unaltered form. Intracellular AIB exchanges with external AIB. Various energy inhibitors (amytal, HOQNO, KCN, DNP, CCCP, and arsenate) and sulfhydryl reagents (NEM, pCMB, and iodoacetate) severely inhibit uptake. The uptake system is saturable with reference to AIB-and the Lineweaver-Burk plots show biphasic kinetics suggesting the involvement of two transport systems. AIB shares a common transport system with alanine, cysteine, glycine, methionine, serine, and proline. Uptake is regulated by feedback inhibition and transinhibition.

Notes: . Oxytricha strains used in biochemical studies have traditionally been grown in unaerated, unagitated culture tubes or Fernbach flasks. These cultures are limited in volume to about one liter and have a very nonuniform distribution of cells, with the majority of the cells at the very top or bottom of the medium. We have found conditions in which Oxytricha can be grown in 50-liter fermentation vats. The cultures grow to a uniform density of about 6000 cells/ml.

Notes: . The fine structure of the tomite of Foettingeria actiniarum (Claparède) was examined and compared with that of other apostome tomites. This stage in the life cycle has a unique configuration of kineties that form a spiral through the cytoplasm in the interior of the body. The structure and behavior of this internal spiral were evaluated as a mechanism for the storage of kinetosomes, an adaptation to the ciliate's two-host life cycle. The spiral is composed of nine ribbons of laterally compressed kinetosomes that are in contact with a thin electron-dense fibril. Paralleling the kineties of the spiral are conspicuous, swollen lamellae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum; these lamellae contain moderately electron-dense material. The spiral is associated with the large contractile vacuole and winds about the macronucleus. The tomite of Foettingeria possesses a single, robust, caudal cilium located in a pit, along with the nozzle-like pore of the contractile vacuole. The walls of the pit contain several trichocysts arranged radially about the caudal cilium and aimed into the pit.

Notes: . Fine structural studies of a specialized vesicle system associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of exo-erythrocytic Plasmodium berghei suggest that this system may be the equivalent of a Golgi apparatus. Patches of ER, randomly distributed in the cytoplasm of developing parasites, are formed of smooth and ribosome-studded cisternae intermingled with each other. The vesicle systems are located between as well as at the edges of ER aggregates and appear to be in different stages of budding from the cisternae. Prolonged osmication reveals distinct staining of the nuclear envelope and ER of the parasites as well as part of the Golgi apparatus of the hepatocytes. However, the small vesicles associated with the parasite's ER are unstained, as are the coated vesicles in the Golgi region of the liver cell. These sites in the parasite cytoplasm seem comparable to the concave surface of the Golgi apparatus in liver cells. The pinched-off vesicles fuse with others to form the prominent peripheral vacuolization characteristic of the nearly mature exo-erythrocytic form. The formation of these peripheral vacuoles and their subsequent fusion with the parasite membrane may be an exocytosis mechanism supplying the rapidly expanding parasite with new plasma membrane material.

Notes: . Ultrastructural cytochemical techniques were used to analyze the nucleus and the kinetoplast of epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi. With the use of ethanolic phosphotungstic acid, which detects basic proteins, reaction product was seen in the chromatin and at the periphery of the kinetoplast. Thallium alcoholate, which interacts with DNA, stained strongly the whole kinetoplast and the chromatin. With the use of a silver impregnation method that detects acidic nucleolar proteins, silver granules were seen preferentially located in the central region of the nucleolus. With the EDTA method, which reveals the presence of ribonucleoproteins, staining was observed in the nuclear pores. Also 6–8 nm fibrils, 25 nm and 40 nm granules, which correspond to the perichromatin fibers, interchromatin granules and the perichromatin granules, respectively, were identified in the nucleus. The EDTA method also revealed the presence of 40 nm granules in the kinetoplast. These granules were seen mainly at the two extremities of the kinetoplast. Freeze-fracture images indicate that the nuclear membrane contains ca. 9 pores/μm2 of nuclear surface area. The mean diameter of the pores was 80 nm. All these results suggest that epimastigotes of T. cruzi have a very active nucleus and a high rate of nucleocytoplasmic interchange.

Notes: . When a streptomycin-bleached mutant of Euglena gracilis strain Z was cultured in the dark at 33, 26, or 15°C, the content of paramylon was higher at lower growing temperature while that of wax esters was higher at higher temperature. Transfer of the cells grown at 33°C–15°C decreased the wax ester content while increasing the paramylon content; transfer in the reverse direction caused reverse changes. On incubation with labeled acetate, the cells grown at 33°C showed more distribution of radioactivity in wax esters than the cells grown at lower temperatures. Apparently the two energy-reserve substances have different physiological functions.

Notes: The sessiline peritrich Ellobiophrya conviva n. sp. is described from marine ectoprocts of the genus Bugula, the first report of an ellobiophryid on bryozoan hosts. The new species is distinguished from others of its genus by its different body proportions, size, host, and structure of the clasping holdfast (for which the new name cinctum is chosen). Ellobiophrya conviva has been found only on B. neritina and B. turrita and shows a marked seasonal cycle of abundance. The family Ellobiophryidae Chatton & Lwoff is revised on the basis of new information provided by E. conviva, with the single species of the genus Clausophrya removed to Ellobiophrya as E. oblida Naidenova & Zaika n. comb. The genus Caliperia Laird remains unchanged. The two genera of the revised family are distinguished from one another by differences in the structure of the cinctum. Hypotheses are advanced to explain the morphogenesis of the cinctum and the evolution of ellobiophryids from other peritrichs.

Notes: The spatial and seasonal distribution of Paramecium bursaria in two small Indiana ponds was studied using a sampling grid. Very small (5.0 ml) samples were taken so that the individual microhabitats could be studied. The results were evaluated in comparison to the data collected for the P. aurelia complex collected in the same manner and at the same sites. It was found that P. bursaria exist in a clumped distribution, but that the distribution was not very different from random. Paramecium bursaria also exist at the surface and at the mud-water interface. Temperature does not seem to play a statistically significant role in determining population size. The breeding system of P. bursaria is optimized for an outbreeding population of low density. In comparison, the species of the P. aurelia complex exist in a very clumped distribution, are found only at the mud-water interface, and are inbreeders. The evolutionary strategies of the two types of paramecia are discussed.

Notes: L'étude du caractère planctonique de différentes spores d'Actinomyxidies montre une complexité croissante dans leur adaptation au milieu aquatique. Au contact de l'eau, les trois cellules épéisporales de chaque spore se transforment en flotteurs de forme différente suivant les espèces. Ces flotteurs peuvent s'unir entre eux en un style équivelent à un quatrième flotteur ou associer diversement les huit spores issues d'un měme pansporocyste. C'est le cas dans le genre Synactinomyxon dont la diagnose est modifiée pour inclure une deuxième espèce S. Iongicauda n. sp. Un type nouveau est décrit chez lequel la preéence d'ancres à l'extrémité des cellules épisporales permet de maintenir efficacement réunies plusieurs dizaines de spores émises simultanément. Nous avons observé dans les genres Aurantiactinomyxon, Synactinomyxon, Echinactinomyxon l'emission du sporoplasme. II est libére en entier et capable de se déplacer dans l'eau pendant plus d'une heure grǎce à des mouvements amoeboïdes. Chez Aurantiactinomyxon eiseniellae les études ultrastructurales montrent que l'enveloppe du pansporocyste, d'une part, les épispores et les capsules polaires d'autre part sont réalisées à partir de cellules distinctes et profondément modifiées. Quant au sporoplasme, autrefois décrit comme un plasmode avec de nombreuses paires de noyaux, il contient, en fait, des ensembles identiques dont chacun est constitué de l'union d'un noyau satellite et d'une cellule uninucléée.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ABSTRACTThe study of the planktonic character of different Actinomyxidia spores reveals increasingly complex adaptations to an aquatic environment. On contact with water, the three episporal cells of each spore transform into floats, the forms of which differ according to species. These floats can join together so that a fourth type of float is formed, or they can unite in various ways the eight spores originating from the same pansporocyst. This is the case in the genus Synactinomyxon whose diagnosis is modified to include a second species S. Iongicauda n. sp. A new type is described in which the presence of anchors at the extremities of the episporal cells permits several dozen spores that have been emitted simultaneously to be kept together. We have observed the emission of the sporoplasm in the genera Aurantiactinomyxon, Synactinomyxon, and Echinactinomyxon. It is freed completely and for more than an hour is capable of changing its position in the water by amoeboid movements. In the case of Aurantiactinomyxon eiseniellae, ultrastructural studies show that the pansporocyst envelope on the one hand, and the epispores and polar capsules on the other hand, are formed from separate but profoundly modified cells. The sporoplasm, however, sometimes described as a plasmodium with numerous pairs of nuclei, contains, in fact, identical complexes, each consisting of a uninucleate cell united with a satellite nucleus.

Notes: Paramecia detect and accumulate in or disperse from some chemicals. Cells do this by changing frequency of turning and speed of swimming. There are at least two mechanisms by which cells respond: one dependent on ability to turn, one dependent on speed modulation. There are also two classes of chemicals: those that require the cells' ability to turn in order to cause accumulation and dispersal (type I), and those that apparently require only speed modulation (type II). Attractants of type I cause qualitatively similar changes in behavior to repellents of type II and the converse; therefore, assays are needed to distinguish between these two classes of chemicals, despite qualitatively similar behavior of some attractants and repellents. We examined two assays of paramecium chemoresponse, T-maze assay and well test, to understand how the T-maze distinguishes between attractants of type I and repellents of type II and why the well test does not.