Ultrastructural observations on the feeding techniques of the protostelids Ceratiomyxella tahitiensis, Nematostelium gracile, and Schizoplasmodium cavostelioides are presented. In agar culture the multinucleate amoebae of these sporocarp-forming protistans feed on bacteria and yeast. Bacterial cells are engulfed intact in typical food vacuoles. When a feeding amoeba encounters a yeast cell, however, a pseudopodial process penetrates the yeast cell wall and enters the cell lumen. The protoplasm of the yeast cell is then engulfed, and the pseudopodium withdraws. The cell wall of the yeast is left intact, except for the point of penetration. The occurrence of similar feeding behavior in the amoeboid protozoan family Vampyrellidae is discussed. The use of feeding techniques to assess mycetozoan phylogeny is considered.
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