Frontonia
is a genus of protozoan ciliates known to be able to ingest lots of
food, as you may have noticed 😂 they can be found in running or
stagnant water and lives in sediments and also plankton! It mainly feeds
on bacteria, flagellates, diatoms, algae, naked amoeba, naked amoeba,
ciliates and even small animals like rotifers! They have tiny mouths but
that doesn’t stop them from eating huge filaments of cyanobacteria,
which can greatly alter their shape. Their mouth can even expand up to
two-thirds of their length without injuring the cell!
To eat cyanobacteria, Frontonia’s oral cilia pull on it and then the whole cell move in towards the food. The organism also adjust its position so the filament can pass easily to the posterior of the cell and then small contractions occur. The entire digestion process is known to take around 6 hours and is helped by cyclosis, which is the flow of cytoplasm inside the cell!
Music by @arithmetikmusiq ✨
Video taken with my iPhone mounted on my BA310E Motic microscope with an @ilabcam adapter 🔬 @moticamericas
Reference:
Dias, R. J. P., & D'agosto, M. (2006). Feeding behavior of Frontonia leucas (Ehrenberg)(Protozoa, Ciliophora, Hymenostomatida) under different environmental conditions in a lotic system. Revista Brasileira De Zoologia, 23(3), 758-763.
To eat cyanobacteria, Frontonia’s oral cilia pull on it and then the whole cell move in towards the food. The organism also adjust its position so the filament can pass easily to the posterior of the cell and then small contractions occur. The entire digestion process is known to take around 6 hours and is helped by cyclosis, which is the flow of cytoplasm inside the cell!
Music by @arithmetikmusiq ✨
Video taken with my iPhone mounted on my BA310E Motic microscope with an @ilabcam adapter 🔬 @moticamericas
Reference:
Dias, R. J. P., & D'agosto, M. (2006). Feeding behavior of Frontonia leucas (Ehrenberg)(Protozoa, Ciliophora, Hymenostomatida) under different environmental conditions in a lotic system. Revista Brasileira De Zoologia, 23(3), 758-763.
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