Like other ciliates two types of nuclei are present. A germinative micronucleus and a RNA-producing macronucleus. Both have nuclear envelopes with pores and both have ribosomes attached to their outer...

Vorticella convallaria has a contractile stalk that arises from the aboral pole of the cell. The myonemes from the body converge at this pole and pass into the stalk to form a large contractile bundle...

The appearance of the macronucleus depends on the stage of the cell, whether the cell is in early, middle or late growth phase or is in stationary phase or whether the cell is dividing by mitosis or i...

In a 9-day old culture of stationary phase cells, two or three days post-conjugation, remnants of the previous macronucleus could be found near normal macronuclear bodies. This remnant was identified ...

11 micrographs of views of a serially-sectioned contracted Vorticella convallaria cell that show the main features of this cell. This figure shows 5 food vacuoles and the edges of 2 more. The connecti...

Vorticella convallaria has a contractile stalk that arises from the aboral pole of the cell. The myonemes from the body converge at this pole and pass into the stalk to form a large contractile bundle...

Opercularia coarctata. Transmission electron micrograph of contracted cell body. This ciliate does not have rows of basal body/cilia over its whole surface but has cilia in the oral region and in a tr...

Overview of Coleps hirtus cell seen in this median transverse section. This barrel-shaped cell has a few rows of cilia and the cell is covered with calcified polysaccharide platelets that are housed w...

Opercularia is named for a ciliated flap (operculum) that is adoral to the opening to the oral region. However, this operculum is pulled back into the body when the myonemes are fully contracted as in...

This image shows elements of myonemal fibers which lie next to the epiplasm that lies internal to the plasma membrane and alveoli. A close association of the ER with the myonemes is seen. The cytosol ...