Ref ID : 4949
E. Schnepf, G. Deichgraber, and W. Koch; [Uber das Vorkommen und den Bau gestielter "Hyllen" bei Ochromonas malhamensis Pringsheim O. sociabilis nom. prov. Pringsheim] (The Occurrence and Structure of Stalked Tunicae in Ochromonas malhamensis Pringsheim and O. sociabilis nom. prov. Pringsheim). Archiv fur Mikrobiologie 63:15-25, 1968
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Usually the flagellates of the genus Ochromonas attach to a substrate by a short pseudopodium and a little mucilagous knob. Several strains of Ochromonas malhamensis as well as O. sociabilis, yet, produce a delicate tunica consisting of a 10-20 µm long hollow stalk and a cup-shaped envelope which encloses a long protoplasmatic filament and the basal half of the cell respectively. These tunicae, often overlooked, are leaved after the minutest disturbance. The length of the stalk, the depth of the cup, and the thickness of their walls is strongly dependent on the nutrition medium; the temperature has little, the light no influence. The tunica consists in the region of the stalk of helical wound, bandlike, presumably cellulosic fibrils which split in the region of the cup in smaller ones and even in elementary fibrils with a diameter of 3-3.5 nm. Similar fibrils but in an irregular distribution are also observed in the mucilagous knobs produced by O. danica. The taxonomic meaning of these findings is briefly discussed.