A Comparative Study of Argentophilic Structures in Three Peritrich Ciliates

Protargol and Chatton-Lwoff silver techniques were used to study laboratory-propagated populations of the peritrich ciliates Vorticella microstoma, V. convallaria, and Telotrochidium henneguyi. Attention was given to: the number of pellicular striations which encircle the body; the arrangement and replication of kinetosomes in the aborally located ciliated wreath and scopular ring; differentiation of the scopular ring during binary fission; redifferentiation of the stalk. V. microstoma was characterized by 43-46 pellicular striations (silverlines), V. convallaria by 106 ± 5, T. henneguyi by 50-56. Ten to twelve silverlines were found in the zone between the ciliated girdle and scopula ring of V. microstoma, 19-22 in V. convallaria, 7-9 in T. henneguyi. Kinetosomes seem to form the "line" described beneath the ciliated wreath by Noland & Finley; three rows of such kinetosomes characterized the line in mature stalked (sessile) V. microstoma but six rows characterized that species' telotroch; in V. convallaria the numbers were two rows in the sessile organism and six rows in the telotroch; in mature T. henneguyi six rows of kinetosomes were found. The silver techniques revealed evidence which confirms the well-known view that kinetosomes play a key role in the formation of the vorticellid stalk. In addition, our findings strongly suggest that the stalk spasmoneme originates from two argentophilic particles located in the scopula region. The findings reported here should be useful for taxonomists who work only with light microscopes and they may also provide guide lines for transmission and scanning electron microscopy of peritrichs.