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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 920

Kawamura Ryoko; The ciliary and fibrillar systems of the ciliate Vorticella. J.Sci.Hiroshima Univ.,Ser.B,Div.1 24:183-203, 1973

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Four species of the genus Vorticella, V. microstoma, V. similis, V. convallaria and V. monilata, were used for investigating their fine structure under the electron microscope. The fine structure of pellicle is fundamentally equal in all the species in having two high electron dense membranes. Although the cavity which is formed between the internal pellicular membrane and the plasma membrane shows some difference in shape among the species, the systematic transition can be traced among them. The ciliature is traced at the peristomial, posterior ciliary wreaths, and the scopula. In the peristomial ciliary wreath, the ciliature of two kinds of kineties, haplokinety and polykinety, were investigated. In the fibrillar system attached to both the kineties, the following peculiarities were observed: the myofibril is attached to the haplokinety; the kinetosomal fiber and the hexagonal network structures are in contact with the polykinety. The structures of cilia arranged in the peristomial ciliary wreath and the scopula were clarified. The cilia of peristomial ciliary wreath have the fundamental fine-structure of other ciliates or metazoa, but it is peculiar that the secondary fiber can be easily seen between the central and perpheral filaments, and that ten pores and an electron dense cupule-like material are found on the septa at the juncture of the basal body with the cilium. The cilia on the scopula show 9+0 arrangement of filaments. Four kinds of myonemes, circular-, body-, stalk- and membranous-myonemes, are identified. The myoneme is composed of parallel microfibrils, and has the membrane- limited canalicular system which is made by the inner canaliculi among microfibrils and the outer canaliculi outside them. There are two kinds of layers surrounding the central stalk myoneme, the cytoplasmic layer with mitocondria and the sheath layer with very fine filaments. Besides, electron dense fibers are found in the inside wall of the outermost membrane.