Studies in the metabolism of protozoa

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Abstract
Bacteriologically sterile cultures of B. caudatus are most satisfactory for metabolic studies. The initial rate of NH3 production is more than doubled by the time the culture is 8-10 hrs. old, and thereafter remains steady or increases slowly until the culture reaches an age of 30 hrs. During the first 8 hrs. of growth increase in culture population runs roughly parallel to NH3 production; in spite of continued rapid increase of bodos the rate of NH3 production becomes steady or decreases. B. caudatus has a pronounced sensitivity to the O2 tension of its environment; between the 16th and 18th hrs. the rate of Oa uptake reaches a sharp peak value and then starts to fall rapidly despite the fact that the number of bodos is still increasing. A possible inference is that nitrogenous food is preferentially metabolized during the early development of a culture but that later non-nitrogenous foods are utilized.

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