Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
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Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
I recorded this in a fresh water sample. I think pressure from the cover slip ruptured whatever this was, and what was inside then swam away (at end of video). Someone suggested in a comment on the video that this might be "a Prorodon or an Ophryoglena in a reproductive cyst.
Any thoughts from the experts here? Did whatever swam away have a chance at survival?
Any thoughts from the experts here? Did whatever swam away have a chance at survival?
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
I have a video where a bunch of protist are eating a dead organism. A few of the organisms in there look very similar!
Idk how big the thing in your video is.
https://youtu.be/U5LJt5_XMzA
Idk how big the thing in your video is.
https://youtu.be/U5LJt5_XMzA
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
There is a scale bar on the video showing size.Mandintine wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 2:04 pmI have a video where a bunch of protist are eating a dead organism. A few of the organisms in there look very similar!
Idk how big the thing in your video is.
https://youtu.be/U5LJt5_XMzA
I just saw your videos, yeah maybe some similarities in apperance. I'm just not sure. If I understood what the organism was inside (egg or cyst or other) maybe that would help to identify it. Perhaps it's some type of euglenoid, I just don't know if they create cysts.
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
I believe some do make cyst. Hopefully bruce has an answer
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
I don't see a cyst, here...just a big, well-fed ciliate, slowly rotating. It looks very much like Ophyroglena, to me. However, I was unable to see the mouth--a very distinctive organ, in that genus--so I'm not completely sure.
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
Bruce, that's my poor editing. I have video of the cyst or outer membrane rupturing seemingly due to the pressure of the oil immersion lens while trying to get deeper focus, I'll upload that and tag you here.Bruce Taylor wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:43 pmI don't see a cyst, here...just a big, well-fed ciliate, slowly rotating. It looks very much like Ophyroglena, to me. However, I was unable to see the mouth--a very distinctive organ, in that genus--so I'm not completely sure.
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
Here is a longer portion at the end of the clip. I was trying to get "into" the membrane with my focus to see if I could get any signiifcant details that would help with identification, and the membrane bursts. You can especially see the left-behind membrane above and above-right of the organism after I pull back. As the organism begins to spin, you can see material from the burst that doesn't spin with it, but the organism is quite smooth and whole so I don't believe it was material from inside the organism. But I guess it might be. After the organism exits at the top you can see an entire ring of material left behind.Bruce Taylor wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:43 pmI don't see a cyst, here...just a big, well-fed ciliate, slowly rotating. It looks very much like Ophyroglena, to me. However, I was unable to see the mouth--a very distinctive organ, in that genus--so I'm not completely sure.
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
I still don't see anything like a cyst, here. The ciliate is in a tight spot, squeezed on all sides by algae and debris and evidently being compressed by the coverslip as well. In these conditions, many ciliates lose their normal shape and become very flexible and deformable. Early in the video, something odd happens to the image suddenly, and everything goes out of focus for a while. Perhaps a sudden drop in the coverslip has increased pressure on the cell, and also changed focus? However, when focus is regained I don't see any broken membranes or the remains of a cyst...just the same ciliate, becoming squirmy and flexible.
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
Let me try one last time -- if I'm seeing things it wouldn't surprise me, but I do think I clearly see this rupture. In the second video (my previous comment), you'll see the organism stop moving at 0:11 seconds -- that is when I pressed too hard with the oil immersion objective trying to focus deeper. I release the pressure and the organism moves again. Then I press down a second time at 0:19 and again the organism stops moving. At this point I press too hard and there is a rupture.Bruce Taylor wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 1:08 pmI still don't see anything like a cyst, here. The ciliate is in a tight spot, squeezed on all sides by algae and debris and evidently being compressed by the coverslip as well. In these conditions, many ciliates lose their normal shape and become very flexible and deformable. Early in the video, something odd happens to the image suddenly, and everything goes out of focus for a while. Perhaps a sudden drop in the coverslip has increased pressure on the cell, and also changed focus? However, when focus is regained I don't see any broken membranes or the remains of a cyst...just the same ciliate, becoming squirmy and flexible.
Here are 3 screen shots from the second video, showing exactly what I mean about the rupture and the leftover material. The times are the number of seconds into the video that the screenshot came from.
0:21 - First, the moment of rupture, this arrow points where to look at on the video. You will see the rupture if you're looking here. 0:47 - here is the material above the organism left over from the cyst/? after the rupture. 0:51 - here is material above and below the organism left over as the organism swims away. All of this material resulted from the rupture. None of it was there before I caused the rupture.
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
OK, I see what you're referring to, now. It looks to me like you ruptured the ciliate's plasma membrane when you compressed the poor thing, and it lost some cytoplasm. Some ciliates can recover from damage of that kind, provided nuclear structures are intact. I don't see anything here that looks like a cyst, though.
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Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
Ok thanks. When I didn't see any apparent damage to the organism as it swam away I had assumed it had been inside something. However now on reflection when I look at the leftover material I see the same kind colors and spots that are in the organism, so I fear you are right.
Re: Cyst? Egg? Any idea?
The suggestion of a reproductive cyst is a possibility. Some protozoa produce cysts as a means of surviving unfavorable environmental conditions, and these cysts can protect the organism from desiccation, predation, and other stresses.
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