Staurojoenina assimilis Kirby, a hindgut hypermastigote parabasalid symbiont in two kalotermitids (Neotermes mona St. John, US Virgin Islands and N. jouteli Puerto Rico) was studied live and by electron microscopy. In this first description of hypermastigote protist cysts in termite intestines we report numerous of these translucent walled spheres in a population of S. assimilis in the hindgut of one pseudergate from a Puerto Rican mangrove community. Tightly adhering, regularly spaced rod bacteria were observed on the surfaces of all live S. assimilis cells. The bacterial nature of these ectosymbiotic rods was verified by TEM and SEM. They are present on the four anterior lobes and most of the rest of the surface of this hypermastigote. The processes by which these ectosymbionts may be retained after ingestion, propagated and transported to the protist's outer membrane are suggested. The ultrastructure of other unknown symbionts, endonuclear microbes that resemble Caryococcus, perhaps pleiomorphic Gram negative bacteria, is also described. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier GmbH.
888DTTimes Cited:4Cited References Count:23