The rotifer trap of Zoophagus

Abstract

The predacious watermold Zoophagus insidians traps loricate rotifers on short, lateral branches of the main, hyphal axis. These branches or “traps” are packed at their distal ends with a number of vesicles filled with an electron-dense matrix. Electron micrographs of the mycelium disclose a two-layered wall; the outer layer is electron dense and the inner, electron transparent. The outer dense layer on the tip of the “trap” is organized into a number of fine ridges and occasional discontinuities. Thin sections through recently trapped rotifers indicate that the cilia of the animals are stuck to the trap by a glue. This adhesive is derived from secretion of the matrix of the vesicles aggregated in the tip of the trap. The secretion mechanism is triggered by the animal and is accompanied by: 1. The separation of the two layers of the wall, 2. fusion of the vesicles with the cell membrane and 3. extrusion of the glue through pits in the tip of the inner wall of the “trap”. After snaring a rotifer, the previously arrested branch grows as a haustorium into the body cavity of the animal. The host tissues disintegrate within a few hours and appear to be the main nutrient source of the fungus.