A rotifer-derived paralytic compound prevents transmission of schistosomiasis to a mammalian host SUMMARY: Researchers discovered that a new molecule produced by the rotifer, Rotaria rotatoria, paralyzes cercariae. Cercariae are the free-living/infectious stage of the flatworm Schistosoma, the cause of schistosomiasis. R. rotatoria live on the shell of freshwater snails and secrete a compound scientists have… Continue reading Rotifers Paralyzing Schistosomes
Tag: rotifer
Anhydrobiosis without trehalose in bdelloid rotifers
Anhydrobiosis without trehalose in bdelloid rotifers SUMMARY: There are many types of organisms that can dry out, rehydrate, and then go about their lives with no problems. Many of the larger ones use trehalose or sucrose as an antifreeze. Bdelloid rotifers (tiny microscopic animals) do not. This study looked at the carbohydrate content in desiccated… Continue reading Anhydrobiosis without trehalose in bdelloid rotifers
Rotifers Eating Foreign DNA
Evidence Supporting the Uptake and Genomic Incorporation of Environmental DNA in the “Ancient Asexual” Bdelloid Rotifer Philodina roseola SUMMARY: This study looked at whether bdelloid rotifers were better at taking in DNA compared to Monogononta rotifers. Bdelloids are a class of rotifers that only reproduce asexually. There has never been a male observed. Their cells… Continue reading Rotifers Eating Foreign DNA
Rotifer Reproduction Mechanism
Genetic exchange among bdelloid rotifers is more likely due to horizontal gene transfer than to meiotic sex SUMMARY: This study looked at the conclusion drawn by another study that said bdelloid rotifers used a type of meiosis similar to that found in a genus of plants called Oenothera [1]. Five hundred seventy-six rotifers of the… Continue reading Rotifer Reproduction Mechanism
Rotifers Eating Bacteria to Clean Water
Foam-forming bacteria in activated sludge effectively reduced by rotifers in laboratory- and real-scale wastewater treatment plant experiments SUMMARY: This article looks at using rotifers as a way to control a specific type of filamentous bacteria in wastewater treatment plants. Overgrowth of this bacteria leads to foam and inefficient break down of waste by other microorganisms.… Continue reading Rotifers Eating Bacteria to Clean Water
Effects of Antibiotics on Plankton
Interspecies Interactions Reverse the Hazard of Antibiotics Exposure: A Plankton Community Study on Responses to Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride SUMMARY: Antibiotics that have made their way into aquatic ecosystems may have an effect on the food chains there. This study tested the effects of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride on 2 different types of algae (phytoplankton) and a species of… Continue reading Effects of Antibiotics on Plankton