Fig 8. Piscidin 7 kills the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis by causing membrane disruption.

(a) T. pyriformis in media with no piscidin added. Notice the oval shape and well-defined contractile vacuole at the basal end of the protozoan (top). (b) Blebbing occurs following the addition of a 12 μg/mL of striped bass piscidin 7. (c) After addition of 25 μg/mL of striped bass piscidin 7 the pellicle begins to break down and rupture. (d) There is complete dissolution of the pellicle following addition of >50 μg/mL of striped bass piscidin 7 to the culture media.