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''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic
A species of ''Dileptus'' was described by
extrusomes Extrusomes are membrane-bound structures in some eukaryotes which, under certain conditions, discharge their contents outside the cell. There are a variety of different types, probably not homologous, and serving various functions.
Notable extru ...
, with which they stun smaller organisms before consuming them. 13 species and subspecies of ''Dileptus'' are currently recognized.Vďačný, Peter, and Wilhelm Foissner. Monograph of the dileptids (Protista, Ciliophora, Rhynchostomatia). Land Oberösterreich, Biologiezentrum/Oberösterreichische Landesmuseen, 2012
''Dileptus'' species have served as model organism
A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...
s, used in the study of ciliary patterns, ontogenesis, conjugation
Conjugation or conjugate may refer to:
Linguistics
* Grammatical conjugation, the modification of a verb from its basic form
* Emotive conjugation or Russell's conjugation, the use of loaded language
Mathematics
* Complex conjugation, the chang ...
and food acquisition.
Appearance and characteristics
''Dileptus'' bodies are typically narrow or cylindrical, and have amacronucleus
A macronucleus (formerly also meganucleus) is the larger type of nucleus in ciliates. Macronuclei are polyploid and undergo direct division without mitosis. It controls the non-reproductive cell functions, such as metabolism. During conjugation, t ...
made up of more than a hundred scattered nodules. During cell division, these nodules divide individually. At the front end of the cell is a mobile proboscis. The cytostome
A cytostome (from ''cyto-'', cell and ''stome-'', mouth) or cell mouth is a part of a cell specialized for phagocytosis, usually in the form of a microtubule-supported funnel or groove. Food is directed into the cytostome, and sealed into vacuole ...
is at the base of this organ and is well fortified with stiff microtubular
Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nm and have an inner diameter between ...
rods (nematodesmata). The surface of the cell is uniformly covered with cilia arranged in longitudinal rows. The body may taper at the back end, forming something like a tail. Multiple contractile vacuoles lie in a row along the dorsal surface. Most ''Dileptus'' are colourless, but two nominal species carry symbiotic
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
green algae
The green algae (singular: green alga) are a group consisting of the Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister which contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta. The land plants (Embryophytes) have emerged deep in the Charophyte alga as ...
in their cytoplasm.
History and Classification
A species of ''Dileptus'' was described by C. G. Ehrenberg
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (19 April 1795 – 27 June 1876) was a German Natural history, naturalist, zoologist, comparative anatomist, geologist, and microscopy, microscopist. Ehrenberg was an Evangelicalism, evangelist and was considered to ...
in 1833, under the name ''Amphileptus margaritifer''. Eight years later, Félix Dujardin
Félix Dujardin (5 April 1801 – 8 April 1860) was a French biologist born in Tours. He is remembered for his research on protozoans and other invertebrates.
Biography
In 1840 he was appointed professor of geology and mineralogy at the Univer ...
created the genus ''Dileptus'' and moved Ehrenberg's ''A. margaritifer'' to it, along with ''Dileptus anser'' Müller 1773 (now classified in '' Pseudomonilicaryon'') and ''Dileptus folium'' (now ''Litonotus cygnus''). Over the next century, many new species were described. By 1963, when Jean Dragesco published the first detailed account of the genus, it included about 50 species.
In a comprehensive taxonomic study published in 2012, Peter Vďačný and Wilhelm Foissner restricted the genus ''Dileptus'' to dileptids "having more than 50 dispersed macronuclear nodules that divide individually," which left only ten nominal species within the group. Many traditionally recognized members of ''Dileptus'', including the well-known species ''Dileptus anser
''Pseudomonilicaryon anser'' is a species of unicellular ciliates in the family Dileptidae, also known under the names ''Dileptus anser'' and ''Dileptus cygnus''. The species is common in fresh water ponds, stagnant pools, mosses and soils.
Fo ...
'', have been moved to other genera, such as '' Pseudomonilicaryon'' and '' Rimaleptus''.
Species of Dileptus
* ''Dileptus anatinus
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' Golińska, 1971
* ''Dileptus beersi
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' Jones, 1956
* ''Dileptus costaricanus
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' Foissner, 1995
* ''Dileptus dubius
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' Vuxanovici, 1959
* ''Dileptus estuarinus
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' Dragesco, 1960
* ''Dileptus jonesi
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' Dragesco, 1963
* ''Dileptus margaritifer
''Dileptus margaritifer'' is a species of ciliates in the family '' Dileptidae.'' It is common in freshwater streams, lakes and ponds, as well as mosses and soil. The species has been found on every continent except Antarctica.Vďačný, Peter, ...
'' (Ehrenberg, 1833)
* ''Dileptus multinucleatus
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' Vuxanovici, 1959
* ''Dileptus sphagnicola
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' Vdacny & Foissner, 2011
* ''Dileptus viridis
''Dileptus'' is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of ''Dileptus'' occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic ...
'' (Ehrenberg, 1833) Foissner, 1987
Video Gallery
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5276756 Litostomatea Ciliate genera Articles containing video clips