Removal of Waterborne Viruses by <i>Tetrahymena pyriformis</i> Is Virus-Specific and Coincides with Changes in Protist Swimming Speed
Margot Olive, Felix Moerman, Xavier Fernández-Cassi, Florian Altermatt, Tamar Kohn
Abstract
(JC polyomavirus) after 48 h of co-incubation of the protist with the virus. Removal rates were conserved even when protists were co-incubated with multiple viruses simultaneously. Video analysis revealed that the extent of virus removal was correlated with an increase in the protists' swimming speed, a behavioral trait consistent with the protists' response to the availability of food. Protistan feeding may be driven by a virus' hydrophobicity but was independent of virus size or the presence of a lipid envelope.
Topics & Concepts
Tetrahymena pyriformisProtistBiologyProtozoaTetrahymenaVirologyEcologyZoologyMicrobiologyCell biologyBiochemistryGeneBacteriophages and microbial interactionsMicrobial infections and disease researchEnvironmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies