A case-building Spirostomum (Ciliophora, Heterotrichida) with zoochlorellae

Genoveva F Esteban; Mark W Bradley; Bland J Finlay

doi:10.1016/j.ejop.2009.01.002

A case-building Spirostomum (Ciliophora, Heterotrichida) with zoochlorellae

Eur J Protistol. 2009 May;45(2):156-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ejop.2009.01.002. Epub 2009 Mar 5.

Authors

Genoveva F Esteban¹, Mark W Bradley, Bland J Finlay

Affiliation

¹ Queen Mary University of London, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, The River Laboratory, Dorset, UK. g.esteban@qmul.ac.uk

PMID: 19264465
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2009.01.002

Abstract

A 1mm-long Spirostomum with symbiotic chlorellae has been found in the oxygen-depleted sediment of a shallow fen pond in the South of England (UK). The ciliate lives amongst sediment debris, where it builds a lorica that covers about half the length of the ciliate. It is common to find several of the green Spirostomum cells sharing the same patch of sediment particles.

MeSH terms

Animals
Chlorella / cytology*
Chlorella / physiology*
Ciliophora / cytology*
Ciliophora / physiology*
England
Symbiosis