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Caudatum:
is worldwide in distribution.
Culture of Paramecium:
Take submerged weeds from a pond and place in a jar of distilled water,
cover the jar and leave it to rot; swarms of Paramecia will appear in a
few days. Now boil hay in water, decant the infusion and add a few
Transfer Paramecia from the first jar into this liquid where they will
presence of cysts, and cyst resembling sand grains have been reported,
but there is no proof of Paramecia forming cysts, since they have never
been confirmed.
caudatum looks like the sole of a slipper or shoe, hence, the animal is
widest part of the organism is just below the middle. The body of the
(ii) Pellicle:
The body is covered by a thin, double layered, elastic and firm pellicle
made of gelatin. The pellicle holds the shape of the animal but is elastic
outer membrane is continuous with the cilia and the inner membrane
on the ventral surface the ridges converge in front and behind towards
a preoral and postoral aperture. Each hexagonal depression is
The outer layer lies in close contact beneath the outer cell membrane.
The entire body is covered with numerous, small, hair like projections
called cilia. Cilia occur in longitudinal rows all over the body, this
There are two central longitudinal fibrils which are thinner than the
outer fibrils. Each cilium arises from a basal granule or kinetosome. The
nine pairs of peripheral fibrils fuse together to form the wall of the
kinetosome, thus, kinetosome is a tube which is either open or closed at
its lower end, the two central fibrils stop at the level of the pellicle in
most ciliates.
Arising from the kinetosome is a thin rhizoplast which does not join the
nucleus. Many Metazoa also have cilia, their structure is the same,
except that the basal granule is different and it has fine filaments or
rooting fibres extending down into the cytoplasm. But cilia differ from
which are found on the body surface, and into oral ciliature which is
associated with the mouth region. The body cilia are equal but they are
longer at the posterior end, hence, the name caudatum. The cilia are
The cilia and flagella have a fibrillar composition. At the base the cilium
10 microns above the cell surface. The cilia are bounded by a unit
with the plasma membrane. The bounded space of the cilium contains
microtubules. Out of the eleven fibrils, two are located in the centre,
the central fibrils. Each of the nine outer fibrils is 360A0 in diameter and
gives out two thick projections or arms from its one side. The arms of
the cilium than the sub-fibril B. Both the sub-fibrils have a common wall
of 50A0 thickness.
The two central fibrils do not have paired sub-fibrils like the peripheral
nine fibrils but each contains only a single tubule. Each central fibril has
that the sheath of the central fibrils gives out nine radially oriented links
The high resolution electron microscopy has revealed that each of the
peripheral and central fibrils of the cilia and flagella is composed of ten
wall of the tubule. These beads are considered as the basic subunit of
Lying below the pellicle slightly to the right, but joined to all
longitudinal unit called a kinety. All the kineties or kinetia make the
infra-ciliary system of a ciliate. The kinetia lie in the cortex below the
some kinetia form the mouth. In binary fission of ciliates the kinetia are
cut transversely into two, each going to one daughter cell, this is called
perikinetal fission.
(v) Oral Groove and Cytopyge:
right but in some cases right to left) and ending a little behind the
middle body. The oral groove leads into a short conical funnel-shaped
The vestibule leads directly into the fixed, oval-shaped opening called
centre of the body is the wide cytopharynx. The cytopharynx then turns
oesophagus.
turns again toward the centre of the animal to lead into the forming food
vacuole.
The cytopyge (also termed cell anus or anal spot or cytoproct) lies on
the ventral surface of the body almost vertically behind the cytostome
or mouth. Undigested food particles are eliminated through the
Gelei (1934) reported the presence of four rows and Lund (1941)
the oesophagus.
four rows of long cilia which are less compact than in the penniculus is
termed as quadrulus. It spirals down the dorsal wall of buccal cavity and
passage of food. It is not known how cilia work, probably their fibrils
out that the function of penniculus is the forcing of food elements into
the body.
(vi) Cytoplasm:
the endoplasm.
(vii) Ectoplasm:
thin and dense outer layer. It contains the trichocysts, cilia and fibrillar
(viii) Trichocysts:
They are filled with a refractive, dense fluid having a swelling substance,
defence.
Didinium, the chief predator on Paramecium, they may be for fixing the
from kinetosomes.
(ix) Neuromotorium and Associated Fibrils:
about the level of the posterior margin of the cytostome is a very small,
bilobed mass, the neuromotorium. From the neuromotorium, fibrils
Of these four or more usually pass almost to the dorsal body wall but
the rest are shorter and not definite in position. All are termed
coordinate the feeding movements of the oral cilia. The fibrils may also
metabolic influence.
(x) Endoplasm:
The endoplasm or medulla is the more fluid and voluminous part of the
Nuclei:
In the endoplasm near the cytostome are two nuclei, i.e., Paramecium
(DNA).
undergo mitosis.
There are two large, liquid-filled contractile vacuoles, each situated near
one end of the body close to the dorsal surface. Their position is fixed
(unlike Amoeba), they lie between the ectoplasm and endoplasm, but
collapses when empty, and a short injector canal which opens into the
vacuole.
The canals communicate with a large part of the body from where they
take up liquids and pour them into the vacuole which is, thus,
reconstituted and grows in size, when the contractile vacuole reaches its
contents through a permanent pore in the pellicle, then the canals again
form the contractile vacuoles, the canals do not disappear entirely since
water comes into it. The main function of the canals and the contractile
feeding.
The nitrogenous waste substance has ammonia compounds and some
urates which are expelled from the contractile vacuoles along with
these vacuoles. Associated with the food vacuoles are the digestive
granules.
itself through a passage narrower than its body, after which the body
Locomotion brought about by cilia is the main method. The cilia can
posteriorly.
Normally the animal swims forwards, the cilia beating backwards but
obliquely, the cilia stiffen and bend backwards rapidly to almost touch
the body surface, this is called the effective stroke; then the cilia become
limp and return slowly to the original vertical position, this is , called
recovery stroke.
Cilia of the same transverse row beat together and those of the same
longitudinal row beat one after the other from the anterior to the
posterior end.
by the animal. But when the body cilia are beating obliquely backwards,
then at the same time the longer cilia of the oral groove beat more
The action of cilia of body and oral groove makes the animal to rotate
on its long axis. This rotation is always to the left (except in P. calkinsi
a straight axis, and the same body surface of the animal remains
towards the axis of the spiral path. But in swimming backwards, all
The ciliary beat can be reversed so that the cilia move obliquely
second.
Jennings contended that the spiralling of Paramecium is due to the fact
that while the cilia strike chiefly backward they do so obliquely to the
Also this swerving of the body toward the aboral surface is due largely
to the greater power of the effective stroke of the oral cilia which strike
chiefly bacteria and minute Protozoa. Paramecium does not wait for the
of its food, but there seems to be no basis for this though it engulfs only
hours. It also feeds on unicellular plants like algae, diatoms, etc., and
Feeding Mechanism:
never feeds when swimming fast. The beating of cilia of the oral groove
oral groove from a distance in advance of the anterior end (Fig. 20.16).
The particles of food then go to the vestibule from where some food
particles are rejected and thrown out, but others pass into the
cytostome.
At the end of the cytopharynx, a food vacuole is formed which gets filled
with particles of food. The quadrulus and peniculi control the passage
of food into the food vacuole which is formed laterally. When the food
vacuole reaches a certain size the post-buccal fibres clasp the food
The tract begins from the end of the cytopharynx, then to the posterior
side, then forwards to circulate with the endoplasm, then to the dorsal
cytopyge. Early on its journey the food vacuole decreases in size, then
increases again.
into the vacuoles. In digestion, proteins are changed into amino acids,
carbohydrates into soluble sugars and glycogen, and fats are probably
also digested.
The contents of food vacuoles are at first acidic (pH about 4) and then
become alkaline, major digestion occurs during the alkaline phase. The
Congo red is fed to Paramecium, the fat globules of milk in the food
vacuoles will first turn red due to acidic reaction of enzymes, then they
will change from shades of purple to blue due to alkaline reaction, the
Caudatum:
The exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) takes place through
osmoregulation, i.e., to regulate the water contents of the body and may
ammonia.
forming.
escapes.
swerving the anterior end aborally while pivoting on the posterior tip.
All adjustments are made by trial and error. Experiments have shown
that the anterior end of the animal is more sensitive than the other
parts.
grouped as follows:
respond with the avoiding reaction and none enters the drop. To acids,
movement and avoiding reactions until the animals escape or are killed.
constant current applied, all the organisms swim in the same direction
large numbers.
are swimming toward the cathode, the organisms reverse the direction
Paramecia will mostly move with the flow with their anterior ends
upstream.
culture where many individuals gather close under the surface film with
inverted water filled U-shaped tube stoppered at both the ends, they
which one fully grown specimen divides into two daughter individuals
right angles to the long axis of the body. Division of the cell body as a
amitosis.
appear, one near anterior end and another near posterior end. In the
meantime, a constriction furrow appears near the middle of the body
produced, the anterior one is called proter and the posterior one is
called opisthe. They grow to full size before another division occurs.
The process of binary fission requires about two hours to complete and
may occur one to four times per day, yielding 2 to 16 individuals. About
earth.
The term clone is used to refer to all the individuals that have been
produced from one individual by fission. All the members of a clone are
hereditary alike.
(ii) Conjugation:
of two animals along their oral surfaces for the sexual process of
conjugation.
material.
varieties, but only with the second mating type of their own variety.
species of Paramecium.
the dying clone, i.e., it occurs in the individuals which must have passed
are somewhat smaller in size (210 microns long) and they are at a stage
Process of Conjugation:
together with their ventral surfaces and unite by their oral grooves; their
pellicle and ectoplasm, at the point of contact, of both break down, and
and forms a complex twisted skein, during the latter half of the
The process has been compared with fertilisation in higher animals, but
now (after about 12-48 hours) separate and are called ex-conjugants.
The remaining micronucleus divides and at the same time the ex-
conjugant divides by binary fission into two cells, each having two
new material. These new nuclei probably contain new and different
Significance of Conjugation:
A clone will die out if nuclear re-organisation does not occur, but the
by which the vitality of the race is restored. If conjugation does not occur
for long periods, the paramecia weaken and die. (Woodruffs claim of
individuals.
fission had made the clone weak with some structural abnormalities.
Caudatum:
(i) Endomixis:
Woodruff and Erdmann (1914) first of all reported a new nuclear re-
micronucleus.
and its micronuclei divide so that two daughter individuals are formed,
However, some workers have claimed with good reasons that endomixis
observation. In all probability endomixis does not take place and it may
of this process and feels that Erdmann and Woodruff have simply
endomixis.
(ii) Autogamy:
Diller (1934, 1936) and Sonneborn (1950) described a process of self-
(pronuclei).
cell mouth.
The two pronuclei fuse to form synkaryon. The synkaryon divides twice
(iii) Hemixis:
(iv) Cytogamy:
break down.
together.
Paramecium Caudatum:
strain).
These particles are called kappa particles. The kappa particles have
without any mµ particles called mate sensitive, then it kills the latter.