Summary
Feeding behavior ofNoctiluca miliaris cultured together with a food organism,Dunaliella tertiolecta, an unicellular green alga, was studied. The feeding process was separated into successive four steps. (1) Food is trapped on the tentacle tip covered with mucus secreted from the alveolar pore. (2) The food is carried by bending the tentacle to the cytostome which is in the deepest part of the oral pouch. (3) Particular, vigorous cytoplasmic aggregation occurs toward the cytostome where the membrane of the cytoplasmic mass is exposed to external medium. (4) The membrane invaginates at the cytostome and the food is ingested in the cytoplasm. The cytoplasmic aggregation is applicable as an indicator of the experimental induction of feeding behavior. Extract of the food, amino acids or glutathione added into the bath did not effectively induce the feeding. Mechanical stimulus applied to around the cytostome induced feeding only in cells of a certain age. Lowering SO4 2− from 30 mM to 2 mM in the bath always induced feeding within a few minutes. Ionic factors of 1 mM Ca2−, 20 mM Mg2+, and 400 mM Cl− or more in the bath were essential for the induction of feeding. Application of an inward electric current (bath to vacuole, 25 nA or more) also induced the same response as that obtained by lowering SO4 2− concentration.
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Nawata, T., Sibaoka, T. Experimental induction of feeding behavior inNoctiluca miliaris . Protoplasma 115, 34–42 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01293578
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01293578