This partial translation of the original paper provides morphological observations on the fungus Spirospora paradoxa. Illustrations are included here

Scherffel, A.

English

Aquatic Commons

Freshwater Biological Association 
FBA Translation (New Series) No. 149 
Title: Towards a knowledge of chytrids. Part 3. 
(Spirospora paradoxa nov. gen. - nov. spec. 
(Plate 28, Fig. 21-24) ONLY) 
Author(s) SCHERFFEL, A. 
Reference: Arch. Protistenk. 54, 510-528 
(522-525 and plate ONLY). 
Original language: German 
Date of publication of original: 1926 
Translator: J.E. Wightman 
Date of publication of translation: 1981 
Number of pages of translation* 4 
FBA Translations are to be considered as "provisional". As a rule 
they have not been prepared by expert translators. nor have they 
been edited by the original authors. 
They are available from The Librarian, 
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at the current rate for xerox copying. 
FBA TRANSLATION (NEW SERIES) No. 149 
SCHERFFEL, A. (1926) 
Towards a knowledge of chytrids. Part 3. (Spirospora 
paradoxa nov.gen.-nov.spec. (Plate 28, Figs 21-24) ONLY) 
Arch. Protistenk. 54, 510-528 
(522-525 and plate ONLY). 
Translated by : J.E. Wightman 
Although my experiences of this organism are extremely inadequate, 
I would like nevertheless to communicate them in order to direct attention 
to it, and to stimulate further investigation of it. 
Growing out from the cysts of a Vampyrella, one finds a pear-shaped, 
short-stemmed (or stemless) bladder which consists of a wide, spherical 
upper part and a funnel-shaped lower part. In the upper hemisphere of this 
bladder is a raspberry-like bunch of rounded, egg-shaped, more-or-less 
irregular (amoeboid?) colourless bodies of uniform granulated plasma, 
which the lower half of the bladder releases. (Plate 28. Fig. 21). These 
naked plasma portions of 6-8u x 4 udia. immediately appear more numerous 
and of smaller size; also their rounded form changes more and more into 
oblong ovals (P1. 28: Figs. 23.1). A contractile vacuole (c.v.) is clearly 
visible in the end part of the elongated oval portion, and in the middle, 
a round vacuole-like spot which may be the cell nucleus (n?). These 
elongated ovals 8ux 3-4 u thick, divide quite clearly and suddenly in 
the middle to give two equal-sized rounded-cube cells of 4 u adia. (P1. 28 
Fig. 23.2). By means of this last division the number of cells is doubled, 
and becomes quite considerable. These are the bodies which develop into 
zoospores. At this stage one can see the flagella growing out as short 
thread-like stubs, which develop a weak shaking, rocking movement as soon 
as they appear. With progressive zoospore development this movement 
grows more and more in intensity and one can see clearly the undulatory 
lashing of the flagella. This continues for more than an hour (under the 
cover-slip) until the zoospores have reached their definitive form-structure. 
The developed zoospores are elongated oblongs about 5 u x 3 u wide, somewhat 
obliquely truncated and rounded at each end, and appearing biscuit-shaped 
due to a dent on both sides of the centre. 
Moreover in the longitudinal axis, they are bent together in a buckle-
shape (seen as kidney-shaped from the side and in cross-section) and toroidally 
spiralled as well. They consist of dense, white glistening plasma which has 
only a few diminutive globules. There are two flagella which grow out of the 
concave surface in the middle of the body. One clings transver.sely around 
the body, so-to-speak, in the transverse channel, like the transverse-groove 
flagellum of the Peridinae so that it looks like two wriggling flagellum stubs 
on the concave sides of the body with the other lying bow-shaped, curving 
backwards from the body and functioning as a trailing flagellum (Pl.28 Fig.23.3). 
In the globule-impoverished plasma behind the indentations, a round vacuolar 
spot (contractile vacuole?) appears from time to time. 
Before the zoospore liberation, the zoospores in the sporangium move 
even more violently until eventually the upper part of the extramatricular 
sporangium is completely swollen up, and then the wide spore mass flies asunder; 
not only that in the upper region, but also the whole space of the pear-
shaped sporangium. 
One sees then, that the zoospores have a similarity to the Peridinae, 
especially with respect to the flagellum formation and movement. They swim 
in a spiral course, zig-zagging in it, but not straying far from their point 
of origin. Their appearance is not of the typical Chytridiacae neither is 
their movement. Further is not known of them. 
The lower half of the extramatricular sporangium, which particularly 
in this region is sharply contoured, does not swell up at its opening, but 
remains in the form of a wide funnel, later sessile up on its host cell 
(PI 28, fig.24). 
In the Vampyrella-cyst, only the glistening red-brown ingested 
remains of Vampyrella and the granular crumblike by-products of the 
Vampyrella pigment are visible, but no plasma body. (PI.28 Fig.21), 
The contents of the Vampyrella-cyst seem completely disorganized, except 
for the exhausted unusable remnants. The spore-forming plasma of the 
parasite is, on the other hand, entirely free from pigment. 
For the most part, no intra-matricular part of the parasite can 
readily be seen in the lumen of the Vampyrella-cyst. After the application 
of iodic acid containing iodine/potassium iodide solution (gefalteter) 
the extramatricular stalk of the sporangium stains an intense blue (Isolichenin 
and appears inside the Vampyrella-cyst as a spindle-shaped, somewhat 
corrugated, simple continuation with a thick, apparently swollen wall. The 
colour of the remnants in the Vampyrella-cyst lumen changes to a dirty green 
immediately on application of the reagent. The remaining wall of the 
extramatricular sporangium stays colourless while the zoospore portions 
in its interior show a yellow-brown plasma pigmentation (PI.28: fig.22). 
I cannot say what the parasite looked like before the development of 
the zoospores. The peculiarities of this organism which is probably new, 
are such that they do not allow a classificaiton to be made with certainty 
from the observations made to date. It is not even certain whether it 
only takes food by osmosis and is then a fungus, or whether a naked condition 
does not exist in the beginning, in which it takes nourishment like animals, 
before fructification causes the undigested food remnants to be pushed out 
within the host cell, and when it is surrounded by a membrane, then 
representing a monadin. From this parasite on Vampyrella, the first is 
the most likely. However, on 18th July 1909 at Iglo, I found an Aphelidium-
type organism (PI. 28: Fig.25) in an organic substrate of an indefinable 
nature, possibly a Nostoc-ball. Its zoospores showed a construction like the 
previously-treated Vampyrella parasites (PI.28: Fig.23b) and it seems likely 
from that, that we have here a closely related organism which manifests itself 
as a monadin. 
The Vampyrella cysts on which the Spirospora are found compare 
morphologically with those of Spirospora spirogyrae (Cienk), whose flat, 
double-contoured cyst wall appears surrounded by a fragile, colourless 
case like a chestnut husk; characteristic of this Vampyrella type. These 
cysts were found here among Vaucheria, on whose threads they were sessile 
(especially the dying ones) whiIst Spirogyra, to all appearances were not 
present. 
At Iglo, May. 1913 
Godollo, Christmas 1925 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notice 
 
 
Please note that these translations were produced to assist the scientific staff of the 
FBA (Freshwater Biological Association) in their research. These translations were 
done by scientific staff with relevant language skills and not by professional 
translators. 
 
 
 


Towards a knowledge of chytrids. Part 3. Spirospora paradoxa nov.gen. - nov.spec. [Translation from: Archiv fur Protistenkunde 54 510-528 [pages 522-525 and plate 28 only], 1926]

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Towards a knowledge of chytrids. Part 3. Spirospora paradoxa nov.gen. - nov.spec. [Translation from: Archiv fur Protistenkunde 54 510-528 [pages 522-525 and plate 28 only], 1926]

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