Comparative Studies On The Cellular Ultrastructure Of Three Hypotrichous Ciliates Groups

During evolution and cladistics the ultrastructures of animal cells seems to be more stable and conservative. The structural polymorphism and similarity of ciliates at ultrastructural level has become important information for the phylogenetic analysis of ciliates and a main area of study on ciliates morphology. The structural model of hypotrichous ciliates is the most complicated one among unicellular protozoans. To reveal the cortical structure and its model, the ultrastructures of cytoplasm, other organelles including nuclei of ciliates, and the relations among these structures is of important biological significance for the further elucidation of the heredity and variation, the relationship between neucleus and cytoplasm, the establishment of the pattern of ciliate cell and the identification of knotty groups of ciliates.The aim of the present study is to further elucidate the complicity of cellular ultrastructures of different groups of hypotrichous ciliates and the evolutionary relationships of different groups of cliliates. For this purpose, the cortical ultrastructures , the morphologic chararacteristics of the structures of the cytoplasm and organelles of different groups of hypotrichous ciliates including Pseudokeronopsis rubra, Urostyla grandis, Stylonychia curvata and Euplotes elegans were demonstrated and compared with each other at ultrastructural level by using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, biochemical de-membrane and tannic acid staining electon microscopy. In addition, the ultrastructures of intermediate filament-lamina-nuclear matrix(IF-LA-NM) system were observed using biochemical de-membrame and diethylene glycol distearate (DGD) embedment and embedment-free electron microscopy and the protein composition...