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1 April 2013 The Defensive Function of Trichocysts in Paramecium tetraurelia Against Metazoan Predators Compared with the Chemical Defense of Two Species of Toxin-containing Ciliates
Federico Buonanno, Terue Harumoto, Claudio Ortenzi
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Abstract

The time-honored assumption about the defensive function of trichocysts in Paramecium against predators was recently verified experimentally against different species of unicellular predators. In the present study, we examined the defensive function of trichocysts against three metazoan predators, Cephalodella sp. (Rotifera), Eucypris sp. (Arthropoda), and Stenostomum sphagnetorum (Platyhelminthes). The results confirmed the defensive function of trichocysts against two of these metazoan predators (Cephalodella sp. and Eucypris sp.), while they seem ineffective against S. sphagnetorum. We also compared the defensive efficiency of the trichocysts of P. tetraurelia with that of toxin-containing extrusomes of two ciliates.

© 2013 Zoological Society of Japan
Federico Buonanno, Terue Harumoto, and Claudio Ortenzi "The Defensive Function of Trichocysts in Paramecium tetraurelia Against Metazoan Predators Compared with the Chemical Defense of Two Species of Toxin-containing Ciliates," Zoological Science 30(4), 255-261, (1 April 2013). https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.30.255
Received: 11 September 2012; Accepted: 1 November 2012; Published: 1 April 2013
KEYWORDS
defensive behavior
extrusomes
Paramecium
predator-prey interaction
trichocysts
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