Number of algae (Chlorogonium sp.) in a single cell

Range ≤90 algae/cell
Organism Ciliate Histiobalantium natans
Reference G.F. Esteban, K.J. Clarke, B.J. Finlay Sequestered organelles sustain aerobic microbial life in anoxic environments Environ Microbiol, 11 (2009), pp. 544-550 doi: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01797.x p.546 right column bottom paragraphPubMed ID19196284
Method Abstract: "[Investigators] report aerobic eukaryotic microbial life in the dimly lit anoxic water layer of a small freshwater lake. The microbial eukaryote is the ciliated protozoon Histiobalantium natans. Electron microscopy of thin sections shows that the cytoplasm of the ciliate harbours sequestered chloroplasts and sequestered mitochondria."
Comments P.546 right column bottom paragraph: "The results from [investigators'] laboratory experiments to test chloroplast retention by H. natans in cultures using different algal species as food showed that the ciliate had an ‘affinity’ for certain types of algae. When fed with Chlorogonium sp. H. natans did stock up the algae in the cytoplasm – and on one occasion, [investigators] counted 90 Chlorogonium sp. cells in a single ciliate."
Entered by Uri M
ID 114556