Summary
The protostelidPlanoprotostelium aurantium Olive andStoianovitch has trophic cells which are either amoebae or flagellates. The general morphology and ultrastructure are consistent with what has been reported for otherEumycetozoa (protostelids, myxomycetes, and dictyostelids). The flagellar apparatus structure has the same basic pattern as that of other flagellate eumycetozoans. It shares with all these an anteriorly directed flagellum and centriole and microtubule arrays (MTA) 2–4. Unlike more primitive species which have two centrioles per flagellar apparatus,P. aurantium has only one. Also, the flagellar apparatus is independent of the nucleus inP. aurantium, not linked to it as in the primitive species. These features are useful in explaining the differences in swimming behavior betweenP. aurantium and biflagellate species. Evidence is presented to show thatP. aurantium is closely related to the non-flagellateProtostelium mycophaga Olive andStoianovitch.
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This research represents part of a Ph.D. dissertation presented to the University of North Carolina.
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Spiegel, F.W. The ultrastructure of the trophic cells of the protostelidPlanoprotθstelium aurantium . Protoplasma 113, 165–177 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01280904
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01280904