In the land of the blind, one‐eye is king: ecology of the mixotrophic ciliates Strombidium oculatum and Strombidium stylifer

• Published in: Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
• Main Authors: MCMANUS, GEORGE, ZHANG, HUAN, LIN, SENJIE, KATZ, LAURA, PIROG, KATARZYNA A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2005
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1550-7408.2005.05202003_1_59.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1550-7408.2005.05202003_1_59.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1550-7408.2005.05202003_1_59.x

Strombidium oculatum and Strombidium stylifer live in tide pools at mid‐latitudes on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. These “green” ciliates obtain chloroplasts from macroalgae, in particular from members of the Ulvophyceae, which they use for photosynthesis. Both ciliates also contain orange‐pigmented granules that are organized into an eyespot. These granules are probably also obtained from their prey, the motile swarmer cells of the algae. Strombidium stylifer has been cultivated in our laboratory on pieces of Ulva, as well as a variety of microalgae. Strombidium oculatum has resisted cultivation to date. S. stylifer is an obligate mixotroph, incapable of sustained growth either starved in the light or fed in the dark. The presence in the ciliates of algal‐derived organelles of photosynthesis and photodetection raises interesting questions about the behavior of both predator and prey, with light possibly being a critical integrating cue for their interaction.