Ultrastructure ofBlastocystis hominis cysts (original) (raw)

Abstract

Blastocystis hominis cysts were concentrated from human faeces by repeated washing in distilled water and centrifugation on Ficoll-Paque. This procedure gave a concentrated suspension of cysts without yielding any non-cystic forms. The cysts were examined by both transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cysts were surrounded by a fibrillar layer that appeared porous in SEM. Many naked cysts without the fibrillar layer were also visible in SEM. They were variable in shape but mostly circular to oval. The diameter of the cyst without the fibrillar layer was 3.5 μm in both TEM and SEM. The nuclear structure was typical of_Blastocystis_ and exhibited multiple mitochondria with poorly developed cristae. Glycogen was present in small to large clumps in the cytoplasm. The cyst wall was 5–100 nm thick and was bounded internally by an electron-dense plasmalemma.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Microbiology, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, P.O. Box-3500, 74800, Karachi, Pakistan
   V. Zaman
2. Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore, 0511, Singapore
   J. Howe & M. Ng

Authors

1. V. Zaman
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2. J. Howe
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3. M. Ng
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Zaman, V., Howe, J. & Ng, M. Ultrastructure of_Blastocystis hominis_ cysts.Parasitol Res 81, 465–469 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00931787

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• Received: 05 October 1994
• Accepted: 20 December 1994
• Issue Date: June 1995
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00931787

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