Description and Morphogenesis of a Chinese Population of Bakuella granulifera Foissner, Agatha and Berger, 2002 (Ciliophora, Hypotricha).

In this study, the morphology and morphogenesis of Bakuella granulifera Foissner, Agatha, and Berger, 2002, isolated from soil in the Chanba National Wetland Park, Xi'an, China, were studied based on in vivo observations and protargol staining. The Chinese population is distinctly smaller than the type population from Namibia. Details of the ontogenetic process are provided for the first time and are summarized as follows: (1) the parental adoral zone is partly retained; (2) the left of the endoral forms a rather wide anlage and the proximal adoral membranelles are renewed; (3) the parental midventral complex contributes to the formation of the FVT cirral anlagen; (4) the marginal rows anlagen and dorsal kineties anlagen develop intrakinetally; (5) no caudal cirri are produced; and (6) the macronuclear nodules fuse to a single mass. In combination with previous studies, these findings suggest that the genus Bakuella is ontogenetically diverse.