BACKGROUND Considering the disadvantages of chemical insecticides, we aimed to evaluate Vorticella parasites for control of mosquito larvae of Anopheles stephensi and Aedes aegypti at different larval stages. METHODS Vorticella sp infected mosquito larvae were crushed in the 0.85% saline and homogenized well to get Vorticella in suspension. The effects of Vorticella sp infections on larval de...

1. Vorticella extracted with Triton X-100 contracted (i.e. the cell body shrank and the stalk coiled) when the external Ca2+ concentration was raised. The degree of contraction increased with increasing Ca2+ concentration. 2. The threshold Ca2+ concentration for shrinkage of the cell body was identical with that for coiling of the stalk in Vorticella extracted with Triton X-100. 3. Living Vorti...

Members of the ciliate group of protozoans are often observed in mass cultures of rotifers. In particular, Euplotes and Vorticella are common contaminating species. In this study, I examined the effect of the ciliates Euplotes sp. and Vorticella sp. on the growth of the rotifer Brachionus rotundiformis by conducting inter-specific and tripartite-specific mixed-culture experiments. The growth of...

Advisor: Sangjin Ryu Vorticella convallaria is a genus of protozoa living in fresh water. It has a bell-shaped zooid equipped with adoral ciliary bands and a contractile stalk tethering the zooid to a substrate. Vorticella is regarded as a biological spring because its contractile stalk can pull the zooid towards the substrate at a remarkably high speed and then relaxes to its extended state mu...

The peritrich ciliate Vorticella sp. exhibits cellular contraction of an all-or-nothing type in response to a mechanical stimulus. Many authors have suggested that the contraction may be controlled by the cytosolic level of Ca2+, since glycerol-extracted Vorticella contracts when Ca2+ is added to the external solution. However, no direct evidence for the increase in cytosolic [Ca2+] has yet bee...

Vorticella includes more than 100 currently recognized species and represents one of the most taxonomically challenging genera of ciliates. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Vorticella has been performed so far with only sequences coding for small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA); only a few of its species have been investigated using other genetic markers owing to a lack of similar sequences ...

background : considering the disadvantages of chemical insecticides, we aimed to evaluate vorticella parasites for control of mosquito larvae of anopheles stephensi and aedes aegypti at different larval stages. methods: vorticella sp infected mosquito larvae were crushed in the 0.85% saline and homogenized well to get vorti­cella in suspension. the effects of vorticella sp infections on larval ...

The contraction process of living Vorticella sp. in polymer solutions with various viscosities has been investigated by image processing using a high-speed video camera. The viscosity of the external fluid ranges from 1 to 5mPa·s for different polymer additives such as hydroxypropyl cellulose, polyethylene oxide, and Ficoll. The temporal change in the contraction length of Vorticella sp. in var...

In this review, we introduce Vorticella as a model biological micromachine for microscale engineering systems. Vorticella has two motile organelles: the oral cilia of the zooid and the contractile spasmoneme in the stalk. The oral cilia beat periodically, generating a water flow that translates food particles toward the animal at speeds in the order of 0.1–1 mm/s. The ciliary flow of Vorticella...