Dimensionality and contractile vacuole function in ciliated protozoa

✍ Scribed by Lynn, Denis H.

• Book ID: 102893902
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1982
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 650 KB
• Volume: 223
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402230304

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

It is believed by some (Günther, '75a) that the dimensional theory of biological similarity is somehow not appropriate at the microscopic and cellular levels. The results of the present study of contractile vacuoles of ciliated protozoa, ranging in length from 25 to 150 μm, sugggests, however, that the theory is appropiate. The data demonstrate that 1)the expected strong negative correlation exisots between frequency of contraction and cell size, and 2) that the expected positive correlation exists between volume output of the vacuole and cell size. An additional experiment indicates the improbability of Tucker's hypothesis ('71) that the epiplasmic layer provides a barrier to water flux through the cell cortex.