Main Content

The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 971

Gregory A. Antipa, Kathleen Martin, and Michael T. Rintz; A note on the possible ecological significance of chemotaxis in certain ciliated protozoa. J.Protozool. 30(1):55-57, 1983

Reprint

In File

Notes

A heat-stable chemoattractant has been from bacterial cultures. This component has a molecular weight in the range of 500-1000 daltons is produced by both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and serves equally well as an attractant for both the bacterial feeding Paramecium and for its natural predator Didinium. Aspects of the ecological relationship between bacterial feeding ciliates and their ciliate predators are briefly discussed with respect to responses of both predator and prey to such a common chemotactic bacterial factor.