Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Distinct Gene Expressions of a Model Ciliated Protozoa Feeding on Bacteria-Free Medium, Digestible, and Digestion-Resistant Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Bacterivory is an important ecological function of protists in natural ecosystems. However, there are diverse bacterial species resistant to protistan digestion, which reduces the carbon flow to higher trophic levels. So far, a molecular biological view of metabolic processes in heterotrophic protists during predation of bacterial preys of different digestibility is still lacking. In this study, we investigated the growth performance a ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila cultivated in a bacteria-free Super Proteose Peptone (SPP) medium (control), and in the media mixed with either a digestion-resistant bacterial species (DRB) or a digestible strain of E. coli (ECO). We found the protist population grew fastest in the SPP and slowest in the DRB treatment. Fluores

SUBMITTER: Zou S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7232342 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature