A glancing view of the thigmotactic ciliature of Conchophthirus reveals details of cortical structure. CIL:39231 is a near serial section. Both exhibit the characteristic zig-zag kinetal arrangement of the diplokinities found in the thigmotactic ciliature of conchophthirids. This includes the nature of the cell membrane and the alveolar membranes that reside immediately below the surface; fibrillar and microtubular structures that support this ciliated cell, and in the case of Conchophthirus, the cortical mitochondria that may represent a single mitochondrion that has finger-like extensions that lie immediately between the rows of basal bodies and are independent of more typical vesicular mitochondria that reside in the inner cytoplasm. The negative magnification is 13,000X. The raw film was scanned with an Epson Perfection V750 Pro. This image is best used for quantitative analysis. For greater detail see:Antipa, G. A. 1971. Structural differentiation in the somatic cortex of a ciliated protozoan, Conchophthirus curtus Engelmann, 1862. Protistologica 7:47l-501.
Biological Process: Cortical cytoskeleton organization, Clathrin coat assembly, Mitochondrion organization, Microtubule basal body organization
Standard glutaraldehyde fixation followed by osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in alcohol and embedded in an epoxy resin. Microtome sections prepared at approximately 65nm thickness.
Author: Gregory Antipa (San Francisco State University)
Source: The Cell: An Image Library
