Protozoa (Habitat, feeding nature, Motility and life cycle of Protozoa)

 

Protozoa

(Habitat, Feeding nature, Motility and Life cycle of Protozoa)

Protozoa

•        Protozoa is a “microscopic unicellular animalcules, existing singly or in colonies, without tissue and internal organs and having one or more nuclei”.

•        In singular the Protozoa called as protozoon or protozoan and in plural protozoa or protozoans.

•        It is eukaryotic, free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic debris such as other microorganisms or organic tissues.

•        Historically, protozoans were regarded as "one-celled animals", because they often possess animal behaviors, such as motility and predations.

Habitat

The word 'protozoa' meaning "first animals".

•        The protozoa living abundant in brackish water, fresh water, salt water and moist environments, such as soils and mosses, hot springs hypersaline lakes and lagoons.

•        can survive for long periods of time in dry environments, by forming resting cysts that enable them to remain dormant until conditions improve.

•        Parasitic and symbiotic protozoa live on or within other organisms, including vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as plants and other single-celled organisms.

•        Some are harmless or beneficial to their host organisms; others may be significant causes of diseases, such as malaria and toxoplasmosis. 

Feeding nature

•        All the protozoa are heterotrophic, deriving nutrients from other organisms, either by ingesting them whole by phagocytosis or pinocytosis or taking up dissolved organic matter or micro-particles (osmotrophic).

•        Phagocytosis by engulfing of organic particles with pseudopodia

•        Taking in food through a specialized mouth-like part called a cytosome, or using stiffened ingestion organelles.

•        Pinocytosis by ingestion of liquid nutrients into the cell by small vesicles.

                              

Motility

•        Organisms traditionally classified as protozoa are abundant in aqueous environments and soil.

•        Motility – Pseudopodia, flagella and cilia.

•        Pseudopodia – the movement caused by temporary extension of cytoplasm like amoeboid movement and crawling locomotion.

•        Flagella – The movement caused by beating of undulating flagella. The contraction waves that pass from base to tip of flagella.

•        Cilia – Synchronized motion of protozoan is due to cilia. Cilia is a slender and hair like appearance around the body surface of protozoa.

                  Many protozoa, such as the agents of amoebic meningitis, use both pseudopodia and flagella. Some protozoa attach to the substrate or form cysts so they do not move around.

                              


Life cycle

•        Some protozoa have two-phase in their life cycles i.e. Trophozoites and cysts.

•        Trophozoites - Actively feed, absorbing nutrients, growing and multiply frequently within host.

•        Cysts - Covered with protective membrane or thickened wall found in freshly passed stool of infected person. The cyst can survive in the environments like soil and water.

•        As cystic stage – The cyst can survive under harsh conditions like extreme temperatures, harmful chemicals for prolong periods without access to intake nutrients, water, or oxygen.

•        Encystation - The conversion of a trophozoite to cyst form is known as encystation

•        Excystation –The conversion of a cyst to trophozoites form is known as excystation.

                                             


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wine production

Image
  Wine production        Wine  is an alcoholic beverage  typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast  consumes the sugar  in the  grapes  and converts it to ethanol  and carbon dioxide and  releasing heat  in the process. Wine making practice is one of the oldest ancient civilizations. Otherwise called vinification and the study called as oenology.  Archaeological evidence suggests that wine was being made at least 8,000 years ago, and there are indications that viticulture was carried on in Mesopotamia (the region that is now Iraq and eastern Syria) about 5,000 years ago. Wine was a popular beverage as well as a sacred drink. In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of wine, overseeing all matters pertaining to the cultivation of grapes and wine production.  The production of wine that begin from crushing of fruits, its fermentation into alcohol and the bottling of the finished alcoholic beverage.  W...
Read more

Fermentation of Soy sauce

Image
  Fermentation of Soy sauce •         It is liquid Condiment of Chinese origin. •     Discovered 2,200 years ago during the western Han dynasty of ancient China and spread throughout East and Southeast Asia and used in cooking as a condiment. •         Soy sauce, with unique clear, deep reddish-brown & liquid consistency. •         Available in different forms such as sauce, liquid or semiliquid mixture. •         Provide flavor, moisture, contrast in texture and color. •        Colour - During the aging of soy sauce, glucose and other sugars combine with amino acids to produce a brown pigment called “Melanoidin”, which gives this beautiful brown color to the soy sauce. •         Smell – Fresh soy sauce, have a live yeast smell and over 300 volatile compounds...
Read more

Cheese production

Image
  Cheese production Cheese is a fermented dairy product with different flavour and texture. It contains about  120 calories, 8 grams (g) of protein, 6 g saturated fat, and 180 milligrams (mg) of calcium . The cheese produced by coagulation of milk protein casein using rennet enzyme. Cow, buffalo, goats and sheep milk are used to make cheese. Milk has two main parts (water and the solids). Whey is the correct name for the liquid. Curds is the correct name for the solids. During cheese making, the bacterial enzymes or rennet are used to make acidification of milk. It causes casein become coagulate and separate whey and curds. The curd called as “Curdling or Clabbering”. The solid curds are then removed by cheese cloth filtration method and drain the whey portion. Herbs, spices and wood smoke also used as flavoring agents to make cheese. Example Lemon, Annatto seed, Cherry, Peppermint, Ginger, Black peppers, Caraway, Garlic, Chives, Cranberries, Aromatic oils (Clove, Spe...
Read more