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Experimental Microbial Populations Thirty‐five Years Later: The Influence of Food on the Symbiosis of Paramecium aurelia Syngen 4, 51.7
Author(s) -
BURBANCK W. D.,
MARTIN VIRGINIA L.
Publication year - 1973
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.1550-7408.1973.tb06016.x
Subject(s) - paramecium aurelia , axenic , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , paramecium , enterobacter aerogenes , microorganism , biochemistry , escherichia coli , genetics , gene
SYNOPSIS Changes in the nutrition of Paramecium aurelia affect its ability to serve as host for the bacteroid parasite, kappa, and the presence or absence of kappa affects its ability to grow in axenic culture. Loss of kappa, tested by the presence or absence of killer reaction, occurred in cultures of P. aurelia growing at a reduced division rate on autoclaved Enterobacter aerogenes in suspensions of lettuce and yeast autolysate 14–17 days after they had been rendered bacteria‐free by washing. Killer Paramecium sterilized of bacteria by treatment with an antibiotic mixture of penicillin‐G and streptomycin in combination with a nonbacterial nonliving culture medium, lost the ability to kill after from 6 to 48 hours in the sterilizing medium. The ciliates from which kappa had been lost during exposure to antibiotics could be transferred immediately and maintained in axenic culture, but those washed free of bacteria could not be maintained axenically until kappa had been lost during cultivation in a medium containing killed bacteria. It is suggested that a knowledge of the nutritional requirements of symbiotic microorganisms is essential for understanding the ecological aspects of eutrophication of aquatic environments.