| Peritrich ciliates have distinctive cellular structures and morphology, and characteristics of life history, which have been of strong interest to biologists. The previous studies mainly focused on taxonomy, life history, microstructures and fine structures, genetic relationships, and phylogenies. However, compared with the above study fields and studies of morphogenesis of other ciliates, the studies of stomatogenesis of peritrich ciliates are extremely rare.Using a new protargol staining method, the author studied the morphogenesis of Campanella umbellaria and Pseudcpistylis songi between July,2008 and November, 2009. The results can be summarized as follows:①The stomatogenesis in Campanella umbellaria is triggered by reorganization of the kinetosomes of the germinal row (GR);②Kinetosomes of the GA then multiply and regroup into two germinal rows: GR1 and GR2, which become the new infundibular polykineties 2 and 3 (2P2, 2P3) of the 2OC, respectively;③The parts of the germinal rows proximal to the abstomal opening of the infundibulum coalesce into a single germinal band anlage (GBA);④Later, GBA widens into the germinal band (GB) which extends toward the cytostome continually;⑤The FR begins to degenerate, beginning in its abstomal region and progressing toward the cytostome, and eventually, it disappears. Meanwhile, the entire infundibular part of the oral complex slowly rotates clockwise;⑥The Hk dedifferentiates and separates into two individual, single rows of kinetosomes. One of these rows replicates and differentiates to form the dikinety of the new Hk (1Hk) of the original oral complex (IOC).⑦Kinetosomes in the other row proliferate to form enough kinetosomes for it to develop into the peristomial polykinety (2Pk) and infundibular polykinety 1 (2P1) of the new oral complex (2OC); The infundibular part of the developing oral complex continues to rotate clockwise and all of its substructures eventually appear to be in a single plane;⑧A second germinal band (2GB) emerges in the peristomial part of the oral complex, and later merges with GB to form a new GB (3GB);⑨The kinetosomes of 3GB begin to aggregate and re-group, form the 2Hk of 2OC at last. The rest of the kinetosomes in the 3GB start to aggregate and become the 2GR of 2OC;⑩The kinetosomes produced by 1Hk aggregate and form the 1GR of 1OC; A FR still is not visible at the end of fission.During binary fission, the C-shaped macronucleus becomes compact and kidney-shaped, and irregular shape one after another. Finally two daughter macronuclei elongate and resume their normal morphology.We first confirmed that the peritrichs have the same stomatogenesis pattern. |
