Electron microscopic study of Tetratrichomonas didelphidis and its interaction with a prokaryotic cell.
Tetratrichomonas didelphidis is a flagellate protozoan found in the intestine of the opossum. The parasite lives in a hostile and stressed environment, where it interacts with microorganisms and can survive under extreme conditions for growth, involving strict anaerobiosis or equilibration with air and abundance or absence of nutrients. The in vitro cultivation of this protozoan depends upon Escherichia coli as a growth-promoting partner. In this study, we used scanning and transmission electron microscopy to observe the phagocytosis of bacteria by the protozoan, confirming the strong association between both cells and the growth dependence of T. didelphidis upon E. coli. After adherence to the protozoan surface, the bacteria induced the appearance of crater-like depressions and the ingested bacteria were intracellularly degraded.
Tasca
Tiana
T
Laboratório de Parasitologia Clínica, Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Avenida Ipiranga 6681, Caixa Postal 1429, 90619-900, Porto Alegre RS, Brazil.
De Carli
Geraldo Attilio
GA
D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000254:growth & development*; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009893:Opossums / Q000469:parasitology*; D010587:Phagocytosis; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000469:parasitology; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal; D016834:Trichomonadida / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000382:microbiology