Vegetative Mutants and Clonal Senility in Tetrahymena*
David L. Nanney
Abstract
David L. Nanney
Abstract
SYNOPSIS. Eight strains of Tetrahymena pyriformis were examined in multiple daily isolation series over ∼ 800 generations. Dead and defective lineages appeared in all clones. In 7, the defective sub‐lines appeared at a constant characteristic rate; the 8th showed an increasing rate of production of two defects. A breeding analysis of certain persistent morphological and growth rate variants suggests that the variations derive from macronuclear alterations. The relationship between these cellular changes and “senility” in metazoa and other protozoa is discussed.
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SYNOPSIS. Eight strains of Tetrahymena pyriformis were examined in multiple daily isolation series over ∼ 800 generations. Dead and defective lineages appeared in all clones. In 7, the defective sub‐lines appeared at a constant characteristic rate; the 8th showed an increasing rate of production of two defects. A breeding analysis of certain persistent morphological and growth rate variants suggests that the variations derive from macronuclear alterations. The relationship between these cellular changes and “senility” in metazoa and other protozoa is discussed.
Key concepts: Tetrahymena, Tetrahymena pyriformis, Biology, Mutant, Protozoa, Isolation (microbiology), Genetics, Evolutionary biology