Frontonia Contractile Vacuole formation.

[Martin Parnham]

Hi folks -
A slow moving Frontonia in a good position to video. Its contractile vacuole formation is very clear. They pump out excess water. The lower water potential of the cytoplasm compared to the surrounding water causes a continuous net flow into the cell, this must be removed or the cell will burst (lysis). The central vacuole is filled using feeder channels. In this cell the lower CV appears to fill its central vacuole in a slightly different way via several smaller vacuoles?
Filmed over 6 minutes and edited down to just under 3.
Brunel microscope SP300, Plan, Infinity, Oblique lighting, x40 objective. Filmed on a Samsung Galaxy a13 phone.



Martin

[DonSchaeffer]

This is an exceptional work of photography. Congratulations.

[Martin Parnham]

Thanks Dom - As I am sure you have found you need a lot of luck to find the little critters in the right position, and still enough to actually film internal activity.

Martin

[Bruce Taylor]

Excellent! It is actually a very compressed Paramecium. Most Frontonia species have a single contractile vacuole, whereas this critter has two (bivacuolate Frontonia do exist, but this is not one of them). When Paramecia are squashed under the coverslip, they can lose their normal shape, and begin to resemble Frontonia.

[Martin Parnham]

Thank you Bruce - In truth I was clutching at straws! I filmed it a few weeks ago and hesitated to post it as I was not sure what I had seen.
You live and learn
Martin