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A Cytological Study of Chilomonas paramecium with Particular Reference to the So‐called Trichocysts *
Author(s) -
ANDERSON EVERETT
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
the journal of protozoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 0022-3921
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1962.tb02640.x
Subject(s) - paramecium , cytoplasm , golgi apparatus , biology , polarity (international relations) , ultrastructure , electron microscope , anatomy , biophysics , microbiology and biotechnology , physics , optics , cell , endoplasmic reticulum , genetics
SYNOPSIS.Chilomonas paramecium has been studied by light and electron microscopy with special attention to the so‐called trichocysts. The electron miscroscope reveals that the anatomy of these bodies is unlike that of the classical trichocysts of ciliates. Since these structures can be extruded from the body of the organism they have been called ejectisomes. The ejectisomes have a regular geometrical shape and a complex internal structure. They consist of two unequal components which are enclosed by a thin membrane. Morphological polarity is established by an anterior smaller unit and a posterior larger unit. When the ejectisomes are found in the peripheral cytoplasm or in a perivestibular position the smaller unit is always oriented toward the surface. A suggestion is made that the ejectisomes are derived from the vesicular component of the Golgi complex. An interpretation is offered concerning a mechanism by which ejectisomes may be extruded from the body.