All articles tagged with #ciliates
A Science study reveals a new organelle in rumen ciliates, the hydrogenobody, that produces hydrogen used by methanogens to generate methane; cows with more hydrogenobodies emit more methane, linking the gut microbe ecosystem to atmospheric warming and suggesting targeted ways to curb emissions by adjusting ciliates or hydrogen flow.
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.
A freshwater ciliate, Oligohymenophorea sp. PL0344, was found to repurpose stop codons: TGA remains a stop, while TAA encodes lysine and TAG encodes glutamic acid, with additional codon reassignments in related ciliates. This discovery shows that genetic decoding in some microbes is far more flexible than the long-held universal genetic code assumption.
A team of scientists has identified the cause of the 2022 sea urchin die-off in the Caribbean and Florida as microscopic organisms known as ciliates. The die-off will have dire long-term effects on the region's coral reefs and ecosystem. The researchers hope that by identifying the culprit, they can proactively protect the remaining sea urchins and give coral reefs a fighting chance.