The histophagous scuticociliate, Philasterides dicentrarchi, infects Korean olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, cultured on Jeju Island in South Korea, causing significant economic losses. However, its route of entry is yet unknown. In the present study, we experimentally infected olive flounder by immersion or injection of different concentrations of P. dicentrarchi. Cumulative mortality w...

Critical review of research methods for tolerance and potential tolerance of ciliates is given. Using several Paramecium species as an example the original approaches to potential tolerance estimation is presented. Connection between resistance, tolerance and potential tolerance is shown. Model for explanation of the connection is proposed. Several application aspects of diagrams of the connect...

The effects of fixation on the cell volume of marine heterotrophic nanoflagellates and planktonic ciliates were investigated. Decreases in cell volume depended on the combination of the protozoan taxa and the particular fixative. For a particular fixative and protozoan species, degree of shrinkage was independent of physiological state. The volume of fixed cells was found to be approximately 20...

Spatial and temporal patterns of plankton ciliates species composition in the Paraná River floodplain were investigated. Samplings were carried out in twelve environments in two distinct hydrological periods (limnophase and potamophase). A total of 61 species of ciliates were recorded, and among them 21 are classified as pelagic while 40 are considered preferentially as littoral species. The re...

We found two tide-pool ciliates, Strombidium oculatum and Strombidium stylifer, that ingest ulvaceous green macroalgae and retain their chloroplasts. Sequences of the form I ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) large subunit gene (rbcL1) from chloroplasts found in the ciliates cluster with the Ulvophyceae sequences on GenBank and with those of ulvaceous macroalgae from pools in...

1. Experiments were undertaken to examine the kinetics of large ciliate protozoa in the rumen of cattle on sugar-cane diets. 2. Three Zebu bulls were fed once daily on a diet of sugar cane and wheat bran. The diurnal patterns of volatile fatty acids and ammonia concentrations, and the numbers of protozoa in rumen fluid were determined. The numbers of protozoa reached values of 5 X 10(4)/ml for ...

We tested whether mixotrophic ciliates are more resistant to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) than heterotrophic ones because symbiotic algae can provide self-shading by cell matter absorption and eventually by direct UV screening from mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). Sensitivity of a natural assemblage to solar radiation was tested in experiments in the original lake and in a more UV tran...

Myrionecta rubra and Mesodinium pulex are among the most commonly encountered planktonic ciliates in coastal marine and estuarine regions throughout the world. Despite their widespread distribution, both ciliates have received little attention by taxonomists. In order to better understand the phylogenetic position of these ciliates, we determined the SSU rRNA gene sequence from cultures of M. r...

Based on rRNA phylogeny, morphologic and morphogenetic characters, two major groups of hypotrich ciliates can be distinguished: euhypotrichs and pseudohypotrichs. Through the sequencing of actin genes, we show here that, interestingly, the pseudohypotrichs Dyophrys sp. and Euplotes vannus have a different stop codon usage. In fact, the stop codon usage of the former species resembles that of eu...