EXPERIMENTAL PERTURBATIONS OF THE LITONOTUS-EUPLOTES PREDATOR-PREY SYSTEM

A model previously proposed to demonstrate the interactions between Li tonotus (predator) and Euplotes (prey), led to a new round of experime nts. The different experimental approaches used to solve these questio ns (starved cells; killed cells; enzymes; lectins; ions; inhibitors) r esulted in quite a new model of the cell interactions which accounts f or the different steps of the phenomenon: the main point demonstrated by these experiments is that the cellular cortex of both predator and prey is involved in many of the successive steps of the cascade reacti ons enabling Litonotus to prey upon Euplotes