What temperature does Tetrahymena prefer?
What temperature does Tetrahymena prefer?
around 28° C to 30° C
Since the optimal temperature of this organism ranges from around 28° C to 30° C, we can infer that because of this, the cells appear to metabolize quickest at these temperatures.
What is the optimal growth conditions for Tetrahymena?
T. thermophila exhibit optimal growth at a temperature around 35oC, with a doubling time of approximately 2 hours (Frankel & Nelsen, 2001). Increasing the temperature to ~39oC still results in an exponential population growth response, although slightly slower than at 35oC (Frankel & Nelsen, 2001).
How are Tetrahymena used in research?
Tetrahymena thermophila is a useful model organism for molecular research at all levels. Conventional tools for genetic analysis, and molecular genetic tools for experimental analysis of gene function have been developed (3) for use in Tetrahymena.
What does glutaraldehyde do to Tetrahymena?
The glutaraldehyde will fix (kill) the cells, allowing you to observe the Tetrahymena in more detail.
Why do Tetrahymena reproduce when starved?
Starved cells frequently undergo a process of “oral replacement”. Finally, nutritional challenge can predispose Tetrahymena for sexual reproduction including meiosis, chromosomal recombination and the exchange of meiotic products with another cell.
How many cilia do Tetrahymena have?
Tetrahymena thermophila is an excellent model organism for the study of cilia and ciliogenesis. The cell is covered by about 1,000 cilia which are essential for survival.
What affects phagocytosis in Tetrahymena?
Time and concentration of food particles are just a few of the important factors that can have an effect on phagocytosis (Fok et al. 1988).
How might Tetrahymena be helpful in the biomedical field?
The phagocytosis lab uses Tetrahymena to investigate the processes of ingestion, phagocytosis, and vacuole formation in cells, and the effects of various factors on these physiological processes.
How do Tetrahymena move?
Tetrahymena thermophila is a ciliate with hundreds of cilia primarily used for cellular motility. These cells propel themselves by generating hydrodynamic forces through coordinated ciliary beating.
What do Tetrahymena eat?
Although the cells we used for this workshop were grown in a bacteria-free medium, Tetrahymena do eat bacteria or other small cells, and organic debris by the process of phagocytosis. When a hungry Tetrahymena encounters food, it uses its cilia to sweep the food into the cell’s oral groove.
Do Tetrahymena have a micronucleus?
As a ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena thermophila exhibits nuclear dimorphism: two types of cell nuclei. They have a bigger, non-germline macronucleus and a small, germline micronucleus in each cell at the same time and these two carry out different functions with distinct cytological and biological properties.
How does Tetrahymena reproduce?
In nutrient rich media during vegetative growth cells reproduce asexually by binary fission. This type of cell division occurs by a sequence of morphogenetic events that results in the development of duplicate sets of cell structures, one for each daughter cell.
Why can’t we teach Tetrahymena experiments?
However, many of the Tetrahymena experiments discussed in the literature use expensive equipment (e.g., inverted, fluorescence, or confocal microscopes and advanced digital cameras) that further require sophisticated protocols for cell preparation and viewing – all of which can place these methods out of reach for many teachers and students.
Can We analyze the movement of Tetrahymena thermophila using a digital microscope?
Building on other studies and reports, we describe an educational laboratory exercise in which students analyze the movement of the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila, using free video-capture and image-analysis software (ImageJ), along with a relatively inexpensive ($45–70) digital microscope camera that is USB 2.0 compatible.
Where can I find bacteria-free cultures of Tetrahymena?
Bacteria-free cultures of Tetrahymena can be obtained from several sources, including Carolina Biological Supply, the Tetrahymena Stock Center, and the American Type Culture Collection ( Bozzone, 2000 ).
