Didinium ingests Paramecium. Note that Paramecium is nearly the waiting food vacuole and the proboscis of Didinium is beginning to reform. This micrograph also shows the metachronous waves of cilia in the two characteristic ciliary girdles of Didinium nasutum and bacteria on the surface that may represent ectosymbionts. The micrograph was taken in 1968 by G. Antipa on a Cambridge Mark IIA operating at 20kV. The negative magnification is 630X. Further details are available at Wessenberg, H. and Antipa, G. 1970. Capture and ingestion of Paramecium by Didinium nasutum. J. Protozool. 17:250-270.
Biological Process: Phagocytosis, Phagocytosis, engulfment, Response to symbiont
Author: Gregory Antipa (San Francisco State University)
Source: The Cell: An Image Library
