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Cell cycle and behaviour in Euplotes crassus : an attempt at describing the biological relationship between its cellular and organismic natures
Author(s) -
Banchetti Rosalba,
Fosella Tiziana,
Vazzoloretto Simona,
Erra Fabrizio
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
cell biology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1095-8355
pISSN - 1065-6995
DOI - 10.1016/j.cellbi.2003.09.005
Subject(s) - ciliate , protozoa , biology , cell cycle , cell division , microbiology and biotechnology , cell , evolutionary biology , zoology , genetics
The two‐faced nature of protozoa allowed us to study the relationship between cell cycle and behaviour in Euplotes crassus ; the former represents one of the most typical cellular traits, the latter is one of the most significant characteristics of an organism. Dividing cells of E. crassus were isolated on a slide and recorded for 11 h: the classic ethographic parameters were calculated every 60 min. The percentage of mobile cells went from 0–100% in the first 2.5 h. This value was maintained for 6.5 h, but from 9 h the value began to drop, reaching 0% at 11 h. The relative frequency of leftward arcs was very high in the first hour, the radius and length of the arcs increased from 1–7 h; velocity showed a similar trend, peaking at 7 h. All our results showed that the behaviour of this ciliate is heavily affected by its cell‐division cycle.