Interaction of Paramecium caudatum and Picornaviruses

In our paper we have researched the relationship between picornaviruses (poliovirus, foot-and-mouth disease virus and encephalomyocarditis virus) and Ciliata (Paramecium caudatum). We show that the number of Paramecium in medium sharply increased during coincubation with picornaviruses within 2–5 days. This cannot be explained only by the fact that viruses were nutrient source for Paramecium because in case of inactivated viruses the number of infusorians in medium increased a little. At the same time the titer of viruses harshly decreased whereas in the control group, which is free of Paramecium, the fall of titer was little. Picornaviruses were eliminated from medium if only living Parameciums were present in medium. After 7–9 days of coincubation only a few number of viruses were liberated from destroyed Parameciums. These results will be especially useful for management of reservoirs of picornaviruses in water and prevention of diseases.