Rumen ciliates : Isotricha spp.

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Gerd
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Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 2:44 pm
Location: near Cologne, Germany

Rumen ciliates : Isotricha spp.

Post by Gerd »

Image

Rumen ciliates : Isotricha spp. The upper pic is focused on the middle of the ciliate.
You can see the vestibulum and the cytostome. Macronucleus and micronucleus are beneath
the cytostome. There also are vacuoles and characteristic starch grains.

Image

The lower pic is focused on the ciliate surface. The cilia form an hairy
impression.....
There are thousands of ciliates in one small drop. I had to made very thin
samples to take shots with only one single ciliate to see...
About 2% of the weight of rumen content are ciliates, if you have 100 kg of rumen content,
there are 2 kg of ciliates !!
Objective 40x, DIC, flash.
Thanks,
Gerd

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Gerd,

Fantastic photos -- thanks for sharing :!:

Can you recommend a good reference on the biology of these beasts? Web search quickly turned up "Rumen Holotrich Ciliate Protozoa", Alan G. Williams, Microbiological Reviews, Mar. 1986, p. 25-49. It looks good, but it's 20 years old now and I'm wondering if there's something better.

--Rik

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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

These are some fantastic shots Gerd, glad you posted them. Some interesting facts that you have presented with your images. The ciliate really looks good on the front cover. Congratulations Gerd! :D
Site Admin.
Kenneth Ramos
Rutherfordton, North Carolina
Kens Microscopy
Reposts of my images within the galleries are welcome, as are constructive critical critiques.

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gpmatthews
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Post by gpmatthews »

Congrats - looks really good
Graham

Sortvind
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Post by Sortvind »

Once again..Very fasinated!
Show the world what they dont take time to see

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