
Fungus (Acaulophage sp.) trapping amoebae
In 2016 I had a wet mount which was kept in a moisture chamber for some weeks. It revealed an amazing phenomenon. There were some filaments of a fungus (Acaulophage sp.) present. Attached to these hyphae were specimens of Vannella simplex. What probably happened is the following: the amoebae came in contact with the hypha and were killed after some time. The fungus produced a side branch which penetrated into the amoeba and digested it, leaving a more or less empty membrane behind. In this membrane sometimes a branched hyphae could be observed. One time I observed a Thecamoeba specimen which came in contact with a hypha. It tried to escape several times, but lost it grip on the cover glass and bounced back every time (see video below). After about one hour it succeeded and escaped. Probably its cell membrane was thicker and less sensitive for the fungus.





