DIDINIUM

Didinium is an haptorid ciliate with an anteriorly located cytostome supported by trichites. Didinium usually can be found eating Paramecium.

After the first ciliate lab, you may already have an understanding of the following structures below that you need to identify and label clearly in your drawings.

Include the following structures and morphology:

General Morphology
Note: You may have to use the 10x objective first to find a good specimen then change to the 40x objective. Then focus carefully through the cell and note the arrangement of the trichites. Then switch back to the 10x objective to note the general organization of the cell noting the macronucleus which is C-shaped and most probably will be stained pink. Also, note the anterior and posterior flagellar bands and that there are more flagellar bands on some of the larger cells.

Draw sequences of the stages of the process of Didinium eating Paramecium.
Using the 10x objective find a good specimen eating Paramecium, then switch to 40x. There is an early stage and a late stage of this process.
Note how the cytostome of Didinium cell has opened to accommodate the prey in the early stage.
The later stages in the process you can note the details of the Didinium cell and how the cytostome has closed after the prey has been "swallowed".
Note the way the Paramecium is arranged to fit into the mouth of the Didinium.

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