Journal
ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Volume 30, Issue 4, Pages 255-261Publisher
ZOOLOGICAL SOC JAPAN
DOI: 10.2108/zsj.30.255
Keywords
trichocysts; Paramecium; extrusomes; defensive behavior; predator-prey interaction
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Funding
- Regione Marche
- CARIMA Foundation (Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia di Macerata)
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [22570170] Funding Source: KAKEN
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The time-honored assumption about the defensive function of trichocysts in Paramecium against predators was recently verified experimentally against different species of unicellular predators. In the present study, we examined the defensive function of trichocysts against three metazoan predators, Cephalodella sp. (Rotifera), Eucypris sp. (Arthropoda), and Stenostomum sphagnetorum (Platyhelminthes). The results confirmed the defensive function of trichocysts against two of these metazoan predators (Cephalodella sp. and Eucypris sp.), while they seem ineffective against S. sphagnetorum. We also compared the defensive efficiency of the trichocysts of P. tetraurelia with that of toxin-containing extrusomes of two ciliates.
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