1 / 33

Unicellular Wonders: Understanding Protozoa Diversity

Explore the world of single-celled organisms known as protozoa, ranging from amoebas to ciliates, with various modes of locomotion and reproduction. Learn about their ecological importance and symbiotic relationships.

sbraxton
Download Presentation

Unicellular Wonders: Understanding Protozoa Diversity

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sub-Kingdom Protozoa

  2. General Characteristics • Single-celled or unicellular organisms; some live in colonies; • Size = microscopic (3 to 1,000 microns). • No germ layers, tissues, or organs; • However, specialized intracellular "organelles" are present • Over 64, 000 species have been described; about 50, 000 are free-living

  3. Locomotion by pseudopodia, flagella, or cilia. • Symmetry = all types (bilateral, radial, spherical, or asymmetrical) • Free living, commensal, parasitic, or mutualistic • Mostly naked, but few have simple protective exoskeletons (tests), E.g. Arcella and Difflugia

  4. Nutrition = autotrophic (holophytic), saprozoic, saprophytic, or holozoic. • Reproduction: asexual = longitudinal and transverse binary fission, budding, multiple fission (sporogony, schizogony) • Sexual = syngamy, autogamy, conjugation

  5. List of Phyla • Phylum Sarcodina • Amoeba-like organisms (e.g. Amoeba, Entamoeba, Arcella) • Phylum Mastigophora • Phytomatigophorans (e.g. Euglena, Chlamydomonas) • Zoomastigophorans (e.g. Trypanosoma, Giardia, Trichonomas, Trichonympha) • Phylum Chlorophyta (e.g. Volvox) • Phylum Ciliophora (e.g. Paramecium, Balantidium,) • Phylum Apicomplexa (e.g. Plasmodium, Eimeria, Toxoplasma, Isospora)

  6. Phylum Sarcodina • Organisms move by pseudopodia, flagella, or a combination • Single nucleus, or monomorphic nuclei • Genera • Amoeba - without a test, naked (free-living) • Arcella - with a calcareous test (free-living) • Entamoeba - without a test(parasitic)

  7. Figure 11.10

  8. Amoeba Pseudopod Food Vacuole Contractile Vacuole Nucleus Phagocytosis Hyaline Cap

  9. Amoeba hunting food

  10. Arcella Test Nucleus Pseudopod Arcella

  11. Phylum Mastigophora • Organisms move by one or two flagella • Single nucleus, or monomorphic nuclei • Some are capable of photosynthesis; chloroplasts usually present • Others are either mutuals or parasites • Common symmetry is bilateral

  12. Subphylum Euglenoidea • Plant like organisms; photosynthesis • Solitary • Symmetry is usually bilateral • Presence of stigma for light detection

  13. Euglena

  14. Euglena Chloroplasts Contractile Vacuole Flagellum not visible Stigma

  15. Kinetoplastida • Organisms are only heterotrophic • No chloroplasts present • all parasitic Red Blood Cells Organism Trypanosoma smear – cause of sleeping sickness

  16. Trypanasoma sp. Trypanosoma Red Blood Cells

  17. Leishmania sp Giardia sp

  18. Phylum Chlorophyta • Flagellated single or colonial organisms • All members are autotrophic, chloroplasts with chlorophyll • Genetically different from Euglenozoa

  19. Volvox life cycle

  20. Volvox Zygote Egg Mother Colony

  21. Phylum Apicomplexa • organisms do not have locomotor structures; • all species are parasitic • asexual reproduction involves multiple fission (schizogony, sporogony) Plasmodium smear – cause of Malaria

  22. Final Host Plasmodium – agent For malaria Vector

  23. Ring stage trophozoite merozoite Red blood cell Trophozooite

  24. Ring stage in red blood cell Ring stage – Early Trophozoite

  25. Schizont with merozoites in red blood cell Red blood cell Merozoites in the Schizont

  26. Female Male Gametocytes

  27. Phylum Ciliophora: The Ciliates • Organisms move by cilia • Usually two sizes of nuclei ; Macronucleus and micronucleus • Reproduction usually by transverse binary fission • Sexual reproduction by conjugation

  28. Paramecium

  29. Binary Fission – Asexual Reproduction

  30. Conjugation – sexual reproduction

  31. Vorticella

  32. Stentor

  33. Protozoa: Ecological Importance • Unicellular level of organization • Highly specialized organelles for various physiological processes • Prominent members of the aquatic food chain, especially detritivores and • Symbiosis is highly developed among members i.e. Commensals, parasites, mutuals, and detritivores with multicellular organisms

More Related