Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

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tlansing
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Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

#1 Post by tlansing » Fri Oct 22, 2021 3:51 pm

Urocentrum turbo is a small ciliate and is rather common in freshwater. Once you have seen one spinning away, you don't forget it! It is difficult to photograph without some restraint (ie, coverglass pressure), but I was able to make a short video of individual that was likely feeding since it isn't rocketing around. The group of cilia (these appear to be twisted together) can been seen at the posterior end of the cell, as can the contractile vacuole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdtDMhutjrk

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75RR
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Re: Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

#2 Post by 75RR » Fri Oct 22, 2021 6:08 pm

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Nice, and as you say, distinctive!
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Wes
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Re: Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

#3 Post by Wes » Sat Oct 23, 2021 7:37 am

Nice find, I'm getting dizzy just watching it. What magnification is this?
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Re: Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

#4 Post by MichaelG. » Sat Oct 23, 2021 8:49 am

Fascinating video … thanks

May be worth referencing it in the recently created ‘Morphology and Behavior’ area.

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=13883

MichaelG.

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Edit: _ The in vivo image here, suggests that appearances may be deceptive:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Uro ... _322212723
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Francisco
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Re: Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

#5 Post by Francisco » Sat Oct 23, 2021 10:23 am

Nice.

tlansing
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Re: Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

#6 Post by tlansing » Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:09 pm

@Wes: The magnification on this video is 250x

@MichaelG: Thanks for the comment and the information showing the protargol-stained individuals. There was a very interesting and well-illustrated post on the German Mikro-Tümplerforum by Martin Kreutz on in vivo observations of living Urocentrum turbo (https://www.mikro-tuemplerforum.at/view ... trum#p1657). He describes the ciliary structure at the posterior end of the cell as "gezwirbelt", which Google Translate translated as "twirled". The pictures in his article are really spectacular. I am also really glad there is now the new forum. I have admired the information and discussion on the Mikro-Tümplerforum (thank goodness for Google Translate!) and hope this forum may be similar.

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Re: Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

#7 Post by MichaelG. » Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:22 pm

tlansing wrote:
Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:09 pm
@MichaelG: Thanks for the comment and the information showing the protargol-stained individuals. There was a very interesting and well-illustrated post on the German Mikro-Tümplerforum by Martin Kreutz on in vivo observations of living Urocentrum turbo (https://www.mikro-tuemplerforum.at/view ... trum#p1657). He describes the ciliary structure at the posterior end of the cell as "gezwirbelt", which Google Translate translated as "twirled". The pictures in his article are really spectacular. I am also really glad there is now the new forum. I have admired the information and discussion on the Mikro-Tümplerforum (thank goodness for Google Translate!) and hope this forum may be similar.
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Those pictures are indeed spectacular, and very informative : Thanks for the link !

The SEM image clarifies things wonderfully … If only they could do video, we might at last begin to comprehend :D

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Re: Uroecntrum turbo, the spinning ciliate

#8 Post by MichaelG. » Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:36 pm

I have just run one paragraph through DeepL, and have learned :
You can see in these photos that the caudalcilia are "twisted". The reason for this is unknown. Possibly it is related to the production of the thread that originates from the caudalcilia. However, despite close observation, I have never been able to detect this thread in attached specimens. Either it is simply too thin or it is not visible in DIK. I have also never been able to identify the process of attaching the filament. This process seems to happen very quickly. However, I could observe that the thread lengthens steadily while "tumbling". The circles that Urocentrum draws at the end of the thread become larger and larger. After about 1-2 minutes, a critical value seems to be reached and the thread is detached. The food intake obviously only happens in the attached state. One can then very nicely see the particle stream that Urocentrum generates. To see the mouth opening at equatorial height, one has to squeeze specimens. You have to keep your nerve when trying to do this. Most specimens burst immediately, but a few hold out for a few minutes, which can be used for a few photos. The mouth opening is arranged somewhat obliquely and directly below it is an isolated cilium, which eventually merges into the caudal cilia:
What an amazing little creature !

MichaelG
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