Tiny ciliate’s momentary 'supergiant' cannibal phase rewrites single-celled limits
Researchers describe Euplotes gigatrox, a seawater ciliate from Curaçao, that occasionally forms rare “supergiant” cells roughly 140 μm long and cannibalizes nearby normal cells, then reverts to normal size within 24 hours. The transition appears tied to specific gene-expression programs and occurs after population growth slows and resources become scarce, suggesting a bet-hedging strategy and revealing surprising plasticity in single-celled organisms.
