Dual capacity for nutrient uptake in Tetrahymena. V. Utilization of amino acids and proteins.

We investigated the relative contributions of phagocytosis and plasma membrane transport to the uptake of amino acids and a protein (egg albumin) in amounts which allow Tetrahymena thermophila to grow and multiply. We used a mutant capable of indefinite growth without food vacuole formation (phagocytosis) and its wild type (phagocytosis-competent) isogenic parental strain. Our results suggest that phagocytosis is not required for free amino acid uptake, most or all of which can be attributed to carrier-mediated transport systems, apparently located on the plasma membrane. In contrast, phagocytosis is required for utilization of the protein. Proteins can supply required amino acids in amounts sufficient for growth only when food vacuoles are formed. We conclude that Tetrahymena thermophila either possesses no endocytic mechanisms at the cell surface other than food vacuole formation or, if it does, these putative mechanisms are not capable of nutritionally meaningful rates of protein uptake.