The Population Growth of the Ciliate Paramecium on Cultivation with Various Soft Drinks

Abstract

The ciliate Paramecium is not only one of the most important organisms in cell biology, but is also an excellent teaching material for enhancing students’ understanding of cellular structures and cell physiology. So, it is desirable that l ving paramecia be presented to students. Although paramecia are easily cultivated in various culture media, the preparation and sterilization of the media are troublesome procedures. For these reasons, a more convenient method of culturing paramecia may be desired by schoolteachers. It has been reported that 0.1% Calorie Mate (liquid) can be used as the culture medium of paramecia (lgari 1992). We performed more detailed examinations to determine whether various soft drinks including Calorie Mate could be used as culture media. As a result, we confirmed that 0.1% Calorie Mate is the most suitable for the cultivation of P. trichium, and further, clarified that their initial cell density on the cultivation showed little affect on the cell density of the stationary phase. Results also suggested that vitamins contained in Calorie Mate might be important for paramecia cultivation.