Ref ID : 4662
Laura Ann Colgin-Bukovsan; Life Cycles and Conditions for Conjugation in the Suctorian Tokophrya lemnarum. Arch.Protistenk 121:223-237, 1979
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Conjugation occurs only between individuals of complementary mating types. It may take place under all nutritive conditions except extreme starvation and extreme overfeeding. The nutritive state of the cells at the time of mixture determines when maximal sexual reactivity occurs. Cells which are less starved develop peak reactivity later then more starved ones. Conjugation does not interfere with feeding, but ingestion of large amounts of food may delay pair separation. Temperature affects the time of pair formation, the duration of union and the total percentage of pairs formed. Conjugation begins and ends sooner with increased temperature. The cumulative percentage of animals which mate increases with temperature. Life cycles, clonal and individual, are characterized by immaturity, maturity, and senescence. Clones undergo more than 800 buddings; individual cells typically 13 to 16 days and produce approximately 50 offspring. The life cycles and conditions for mating may be considered as adaptations to an out-breeding mode of life.