The Secret Life of Bugs:

Stentors

Are They The Deadpool of Protozoa?
by Natalie Walton, Aquafix Microscopist

What can regenerate itself after being cut in half and is also known to have dinner ‘Family Style’? While the Marvel superhero Deadpool is a great guess, in this particular case, I am talking about stentors. While both have been experimented on, only stentors were born with their abilities. However, unlike with Deadpool, I can reveal more about stentors in this article without fear of creative repercussions.  So, let’s start with the basics: What is a stentor?

Stentors are a type of protozoa found in freshwater environments, either free swimming or attached to submerged vegetation. First discovered in 1744, their trumpet-like shape inspired their discoverer to name them after Stentor, a herald of Greek forces during the Trojan War. Stentors are among the largest single-celled organisms, growing up to 2 millimeters in length. They are easily recognized by their distinctive shape and, similar to stalked ciliates, the cilia surrounding their mouth, which are used to create water currents, pulling in bacteria, algae, and small particles for food. This makes them a valuable addition in maintaining a clear effluent. When nutrients are abundant, stentors will find a buddy to eat with. Together, water flows more quickly around them, helping the stentors consume more food. However, since not all stentors can create the same strength flow, they will not eat together when food is scarce.

Now that we know a little more about stentors, let’s get into why these protozoa might just be the Deadpool of wastewater. Deadpool may have superior regenerative properties, but those of the stentor are nothing to balk at.  While Deadpool can basically regenerate from an atom, stentors have a few more requirements. Stentors are incredibly robust. Almost any part of a stentor can regenerate as long as the portion contains part of the macronucleus and some of the original cell membrane/cortex. Scientists are still unsure how they are able to do this, but they did discover that even if the stentor is cut into multiple pieces, each piece will regenerate into a full stentor, albeit smaller than the original. 

Part of the reason why scientists still do not know how they regenerate is that, while well studied in the mid-1900s, they are difficult to grow in high quantities in the lab and cannot be genetically crossed. Additionally, most of the microsurgical work done on stentors was performed by two scientists who passed away before the development of technology that would make the stentor a more traceable system. However, before they passed away, they discovered that they could graft multiple stentor cells together. These cells could maintain a fused state and divide as a stable doublet cell with two mouths and a single tail. So, if you are familiar with the Deadpool story, these scientists just embraced their inner Frances.

While stentors may lack the sarcastic wit and notoriety of Deadpool, their natural abilities are no less impressive. These fascinating single-celled organisms not only play a crucial role in wastewater by filtering water and maintaining clarity, but they also exhibit remarkable regenerative powers that continue to baffle scientists. Their ability to regrow from fragments and even form stable, fused doublets reveals just how little we still know about the complexity of these seemingly simple life forms. Though research into stentors has waned over the years, their unique traits make a compelling case for renewed scientific attention. After all, who wouldn’t want to learn more about a microscopic creature that can regenerate itself and perhaps one day help unlock the secrets of cellular regeneration?

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next edition of Secret Life of Bugs.

Have something under the microscope you don’t quite understand? Try our Microanalysis and Filament Origins Test Kit to get a comprehensive view of what is happening in your plant.

About the Author

Natalie Walton joined Aquafix in 2019 and focuses on performing microscopic analysis for customer samples, as well as conducting experiments on innovation in grease removal. She was also a key contributor to creating our Microorganisms Database supplying identification tips and research.