Infuzoria-trumpeter: structure, reproduction, meaning in nature

The whole Internet is filled with articles about the infusoria-shoe. While information on the trumpeters is very poor, it is not often given the opportunity to get acquainted with them, in addition to being one of the most typical inhabitants of reservoirs. An infusoria-trumpeter is sometimes mistaken for suwoks or rotifers. The stories of knowledgeable people seemed unlike the truth, few could believe that there are such brave protists in the world.

origin of name

The name of this infusoria speaks for itself. It came from its appearance. The form of the body of the infusoria stent resembles a gramophone tube or a horn. It has a similarity with a smoothly expanding stalk, which at the end passes to the socket as well as a wind instrument. However, infusoria is only when calm. If it is disturbed, it, thanks to its muscular fibers, immediately becomes like a ball.

Freshwater infusorians-trumpeters represent the family Trubachi, in which the genus Stentor (Trumpeter) is located. The name Stentor is found in ancient Greek myths. This is the herald, who has a strong voice, he was used to announce the decrees of the king.

Stentor: a brief description

To put it briefly, what are stents, then these are floating and sessile infusoria. Infuzoria-trumpeter (short characteristic): the lower part represents a contractible elongated stem, which has the ability to attach an infusoria to objects under water. This action takes place with the help of mucus secreted by the stents.

Anticipating the danger, the trumpeter's stem begins to shrink with speed, at which time his whole body contracts. To save his life, an infusorian trumpeter can be cut in a fraction of a second to a third of the length! In the initial position it returns slower, this time is 10 seconds. The reduction is facilitated by the presence of muscle fibers inside the cell.

In addition, there is a remarkable security capability. The infusoria-trumpeter has on his body an innumerable number of small holes in which the hinges with dense tips containing poison are hidden. An individual affected by such a weapon is immediately paralyzed, in the worst case dies.

Infusoria spread with great speed. The explanation is unpretentiousness, as well as ease of movement of its cysts of rounded shape by wind, waterfowl, insects and other living organisms. Cysts are formed at a temperature below 0 degrees C.

Appearance

The body of the stent has a characteristic funnel-like shape, its front end is widened in the form of a bell. In it there is a peristomal field, along the outer edge of which long cilia create a membrane by their fusion around the oral cavity.

Small cilia, under the membrane, cover the entire body of the infusoria with longitudinal rows. There are species whose body has only their inherent coloring: trumpeter blue or blue and trumpet green.

Infuzorii are in the sizes from 1,2 mm up to 3 mm. Their appearance can be as follows:

• Movable.
• Sitting.
• Colonial.
• Single.
• Changing the shape of the cell.
• Do not change the shape of the cell.

Above, the cell is covered with an endoplasm, which has an iron-like appearance, and a fairly dense membrane.

Infuzoria-trumpeter: systematics

If we consider trumpeters from the point of view of systematics, then these protozoa are found in a detachment of mixed ciliates. Like close relatives, on their body are cilia of two different types - short and long.

Short cilia, which are meant for swimming, the body of the stent is covered more evenly. Long cilia are near the mouth, closely adjoining one another. They serve to direct water to the mouth opening. The differences between them are not noticed, except in length, their structure is the same.

Food

The simplest are all vital functions, including nutrition. What feeds and how digestion occurs at the stent is a very interesting question. Infuzoria-trumpeter considers his main food to be bacteria. Along with them, food objects are also small protozoa, plankton algae and other particles in the water. Usually trumpeters, breaking the laws of mechanics, swim the extended end of the body forward. Such a slow movement helps them successfully capture the intended prey. Small food enters through the oral opening further into the tube-shaped pharynx. Residues after digestion come out through the powder.

The infusoria is a very voracious creation, it always has its mouth open, it constantly eats. Only during the period of reproduction does this process cease. Most of them are considered predators.

Lifestyle

The main regulatory center of the stator are the nuclei. They are designed to ensure that all processes in the cell can proceed correctly and quickly corrected violations. The infusoria trumpeter has an amazing ability to quickly bring his body to its original appearance after damage. Even when it is cut into several parts, each of them after a while turns into a small stent, and then, intensively eating, acquires the original size.

The only thing that is needed for this is the presence of the macronucleus in the remaining part. When you take a drop of water from a pond with fallen leaves and place it under a microscope, you will have the opportunity to observe the life of such small representatives of the world of microscopic animals, which is very interesting.

Stentor: internal structure

The stent has one contractile vacuole. It consists of a reservoir and leading channels. A characteristic feature of the structure of the ciliates is the large nucleus of the macronucleus. Next to it are several small micronuclei.

The trumpeter also has a small nucleus, sometimes there are several. The structure of the infusoria is as follows: the forming digestive vacuole, cilia, crystals, mouth, digestive vacuole, the place of removal of food residues (powder), nucleus and nucleolus, contractile vacuole.

Infuzoria-trumpeter: reproduction

Stents are asexual reproduction. It is carried out by means of multiple transverse division, dividing in two, or by budding, which is peculiar to occur in a free-moving state.

With asexual reproduction, all nuclei are fissioned, this process is repeated two or three times a week at different intervals in the trumpeter. The rate of this type of reproduction depends on various causes, first of all, the environmental conditions: temperature, amount of food, etc.

The division of the micronucleus occurs mito- nically. Macronucleus is divided in a peculiar way and is characterized by DNA doubling. When dividing the infusoria, some cytoplasmic organoids can be observed. Usually they are related to the offspring, in whom new cilia and oral openings are newly formed.

Infuzoria begins to energetically feed and grow, and then multiplies again. Scientists conducted a large number of experiments to give an answer to the question of how long these animals can reproduce asexually.

Experiments have shown that after several generations, the sexual process of reproduction or conjugation must necessarily occur in the life cycle of infusorians, during which two individuals touch each other with the abdomen. At the junction, the membrane dissolves, forming a cytoplasmic bridge. The macronuclei begin to break down and the micronuclei are divided into four nuclei. Three of them are completely destroyed, and in the fourth there is a division in half. The result is the formation of the male and female nucleus in each infusoria.

Thus, the sexual process of reproduction does not in any way affect the increase in the number of stents. It only promotes the renewal of hereditary properties and the emergence of new combinations of genetic information.

Stentor: meaning in nature

Infusoria, like other similar protozoa, play the role of nurses, clean reservoirs of pollution, eating harmful bacteria and rotting organic remains. By the number of animals you can determine the degree of water pollution.

Stenters in power circuits are one of the first components. If favorable conditions promote this, they multiply very quickly, and a myriad of these protozoa become a favorite food for the larvae and fry of fish, small crustaceans, insects of water bodies and their larvae. The latter, in turn, become food for larger animals of water bodies, as well as fish fry.

Talk about these amazing creatures can endlessly. Infuzoria-trumpeter, whose significance in nature is still a mystery, makes scientists work hard to find all the answers about this being. Much has to be done to know and understand such a small protozoa.