@article{mbs:/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-122-2-323, author = "Watson Patricia, J. and Ohtaguchi, Kazuhisa and Fredrickson, A.G.", title = "Kinetics of Growth of the Ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis on Escherichia coli", journal= "Microbiology", year = "1981", volume = "122", number = "2", pages = "323-333", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-122-2-323", url = "https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-122-2-323", publisher = "Microbiology Society", issn = "1465-2080", type = "Journal Article", abstract = "The growth of the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis on non-growing Escherichia coli has been studied by following the time courses of population densities and protozoan mean cell volume in batch cultures. Viable, non-encysted protozoa always stopped feeding before the bacterial density was reduced to zero and non-feeding ciliates tended to swim faster than feeding ciliates. In addition, the number of bacteria and other particles of bacterial size consumed in the formation of one new ciliate, when averaged over the lag and reproductive phases of a culture, declined toward a limiting value of about 1.6 × 104 particles per ciliate as the initial density of such particles was increased.", }