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Animal-Like Protists: The Protozoa

Chapter 10

Protists
Zoologists recognize between 7-45 Phlya of Protists This group is Polyphyletictraced to separate ancestors Some are plant-like Some are animal-like

Figure 11.01

Protozoa:
Are complete organisms in which all life activities are carried on within a single plasma membrane. Unicellular Eukaryotic

Maintaining Homeostasis
Pellicle- arrangement of microtubules that underlies the plasma membrane Rigid to give shape Flexible See figure 8.3

Maintaining Homeostasis
Cytoplasm has 2 regions Ectoplasm- just beneath pellicle, clear and firm Endoplasm- granular and fluid, inner cytoplasm See figure 8.3

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Protozoan Protist Fig. 8.3

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W. D. Russell-Hunter, A Life of Invertebrates, 1979.

Maintaining Homeostasis
Freshwater protozoa must regulate water because of osmosis. Contractile vacuoles or water expulsion vacuoles- remove excess water

Maintaining Homeostasis
Cytopharynx- ingest food in a specialized region(analogous mouth) Food vacuoles-digest and transport food Cytopyge- specialized region to release waste

Maintaining Homeostasis
Large surface area to volume ratio Gas exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide Excretion of nitrogenous by products All happens by diffusion

Reproduction
Both asexual and sexual reproduction can occur. But most do mainly asexual.

Types of Asexual Reproduction


Binary fission Mitosis produces 2 new nuclei Cytoplasm divides (cytokinesis) Longitudinal or transverse. 2 new organisms that are identical.

One is the loneliest number. . . Unless you can do

Binary Fission
http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/PCD1502/animation/DividingAmoeba.html

OK now you do it!

Binary fission

Types of Asexual Reproduction Budding New individuals arise from outgrowths of existing ones. Offspring may either detach from the parent or remain joined forming colonies.

Types of Asexual Reproduction


Multiple fission or schizogony Large number of daughter cells from the division of a single protozoan Many multiple mitotic nuclear divisions Cytoplasm divides, multiple new cells

Multiple fission or schizogony

Symbiotic Lifestyle
Many protozoa have symbiotic lifestyles. Symbiosis- intimate association between two organisms. Three types: parasitism, commensalism, mutualism

Symbiotic Lifestyle
Parasitism- one organism lives in or on a second organism, called a host

Parasitism
Definitive host-sexual stages of the parasite Intermediate host-when sexual stages produce offspring, enter this host, reproduce asexually. Many protozoa are parasites

Symbiotic Lifestyle
Commensalism- one organism benefits and second is neither benefited or harmed.

Symbiotic Lifestyle
Mutualism-both organisms benefit.

Taxonomy
Protozoologists: zoologists who specialize in the study of protozoa Found out that Protista Kingdom to diverse to put into one Kingdom Many protist phylum have been elevated to kingdom status

4 Major Categories of Protozoa


Flagellated Protozoa Amoeboid Protozoa The Coccidea The Ciliates

Flagellated Protozoa
Possess one to many flagella used for locomotion. Produce whip-like or helical movements Push or pulls protozoan through aquatic medium

Flagellated Protozoa
Both Flagella and Cilia ( both used for locomotion) share a common ultrastructure.

Flagellated Protozoa
9 doublets (pairs) of microtubules arranged in a ring In center of the ring 2 single microtubules. Anchored in the cell by a basal body (centriole)

Flagellated Protozoa The 9 + 2 arrangement

Flagellated Protozoa
Many phyla represented All possess pellicle for shape Two major groups:

Phytoflagellated Zooflagellated

Phytoflagellate
Possess chlorophyll Produce large portion of food in marine food webs Oxygen in aquatic habitats come from them

Phytoflagellate
Dinoflagellates (dino= whirling)
Marine and freshwater phytoplankton Transverse groove 1-2 flagellamakes them whirl or spin One trailing flagella pushes organism forward

Phytoflagellate
Dinoflagellates (dino= whirling)

Phytoflagellate
Dinoflagellates (dino= whirling)
Blooms (explosive population growth) can cause red tide Blooms appear brownish red or pinkish orange b/c of presence of carotenoids Toxins produced by some can cause massive kills of invertebrates and fish

This massive red tide of the dinoflagellate Noctiluca stretched for more than 20 miles along the southern California coast. Non-toxic blooms such as these can cause extensive mortalities of plants and animals in shallow waters when the bloom biomass decays, stripping oxygen from the water. (P. Franks)

Phytoflagellate
Dinoflagellates
Some can be bioluminescent Organisms feed on them, the light attracts fishes that eat those predators

On the island of Vieques off the coast of Puerto Rico, Mosquito Bay s dinoflagellates

Making angels wings by sweeping her arms, Mosquito Bay tour guide Sharon Grasso lights up the surface of the water

Kayaking on the bay on the bay

Phytoflagellate
Euglena
Freshwater protozoa Chloroplast If cultured in dark feed by absorption and lose green color

Phytoflagellate
Euglena

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Structure of Euglena Fig. 8.7

Subphylum Mastigophora (cl. Phytomastigophora)

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Zooflagellate
Lack chloroplast Heterotrophic Some are parasites of humans

Zooflagellate
Trypanosomes brucei Parasite that causes African sleeping sickness

Zooflagellate
Trypanosomes brucei Tsetse flies are the intermediate hosts

Trypanosomes brucei life cycle


Tsetse fly bites an infected human Trypanosomes multiply asexually in gut of fly Trypanosomes migrate to salivary glands transform thru number of body forms Tsetse fly bites human, parasite in blood and multiplies asexually and transform thru number of body forms again

Trypanosomes brucei life cycle


In human, parasite can live in blood, lymph, spleen, central nervous system, and cerebrospinal fluid If the parasite travels to the central nervous system this causes mental dullness, lack of coordination, sleepiness.

Trypanosomes brucei life cycle

Zooflagellate
Trypanosomes cruzi Parasite that causes Chagas disease

Carlos Chagas

Zooflagellate
Trypanosomes cruzi Kissing bugs are the intermediate hosts

Zooflagellate
Trypanosomes cruzi are shed in the feces of the bug and are inoculated into the human host by scratching infected feces into skin abrasions usually caused by the bug in the process of feeding (blood-sucking).

The feeding Kissing Bug

Amoeboid Protozoa
Move by Pseudopodia- temporary cell extensions usually of the ectoplasm and endoplasm for feeding and moving

Pseudopodia
Types: 1. Lobopodia: broad extensions used for locomotion and engulfing food 2. Filopodia: provide constant two-way streaming that delivers food in a conveyor belt fashion 3. Reticulopodia: similar to filopodia, except they extend out and form net-like series of extensions 4. Axopodia: thin, filamentous and supported by a central axis of microtubules

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Variations in Pseudopodia Fig. 8.10

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Pseudopodia

Amoeboid Protozoa
Most familiar amoebozoans are Rhizopodans Naked- no test (shell) Live in shallow freshwater

The AMOEBA

Amoeboid Protozoa
Feed on other protists and bacteria by Phagocytosis

Phagocytosis

Amoeboid Protozoa
Binary fission occurs

Amoeboid Protozoa
Entamoeba histolytica Causes dysentery in humans Inflammation of lower intestinal tract Debilitating diarrhea Needs no intermediate host

The Coccidea
Phylum Apicomplexa All parasites No cilia or flagella (except in reproductive stages) Apical Complex for penetrating host cells

The Coccidea
Phylum Apicomplexa Life cycles typically asexual (schizogony, sporogony) some sexual (gametogony) phases

APICOMPLEXA

The Coccidea
Plasmodium Causes malaria (4 different species) Has devastated mores armies than has actual combat Over 100 million humans annually contract the disease, 2 million die each year

Plasmodium Life cycle


Involves vertebrate (us) and mosquito host

Life cycle of malaria


Plasmodium has two hosts: mosquitoes and humans. Sexual reproduction takes place in the mosquito and the parasite is transmitted to humans when the mosquito takes a blood meal

Life cycle of malaria: humans


The mosquito injects Plasmodium into a human in the form of sporozoites. The sporozoites first invade liver cells and asexually reproduce to produce huge numbers of merozoites which spread to red blood cells where more merozoites are produced through more asexual reproduction.

Life cycle of malaria: humans


Some parasites transform into sexually reproducing gametocytes and these if ingested by a mosquito continue the cycle.

Life cycle of malaria: mosquitoes


Gametocytes ingested by a mosquito combine in the mosquitos stomach to produce zygotes. These zygotes develop into motile elongated ookinites.

Life cycle of malaria: mosquitoes


The ookinites invade the mosquitos midgut wall where they ultimately produce sporozoites, which make their way to the salivary glands where they can be injected into a new human host.

Malaria Life cycle

Malaria caused by Plasmodium

The Coccidea
Cryptosporidium Causes chronic diarrhea and the only known protozoan to resist chlorination Transmitted through water, food, animal-to-human and human-tohuman contact

The Coccidea
Cryptosporidium

The Coccidea
Toxoplasma Cat only host with sexual stage sheds from intestinal tract Mode of transmission : fecal oral from cat or oral (raw meat)

Toxoplasma
Once infection occurs most develop an effective immunity If a woman is infected near time of pregnancy or during, congenital toxoplasmosis may develop in the fetus Major cause of stillbirths and spontaneous abortions

The Ciliates
Complex protozoan Fresh and marine environments All have 9 +2 cilia for locomotion and generation of feeding currents

Locomotion: cilia
Cilia are generally similar to flagella but are much shorter, more numerous and widely distributed over the surface of the organism Trichocysts: used for protection, rodlike or oval structures that can be discharged and stuck to predators

Trichocysts

Phylum Ciliophora:
Other Characteristics: 1. Relatively rigid pellicle and more or less fixed shape 2. Distinct cytostome (mouth) structure 3. Dimorphic nuclei, typically larger macronuclei and one more smaller micronuclei

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Ciliate (Paramecium) Fig. 8.17b

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Ciliophora

Nutrition:
some ciliates possess an oral groove cilia sweep food particles down this groove toward the cytopharynx where a food vacuole forms some ciliates even possess a cytopyge which is used to remove waste from the organism

Genetic Control and Reproduction


One Macronucleus- regulates daily metabolic activites One or more Micronuclei- genetic reserve of the cell

Genetic Control and Reproduction


Can reproduce asexually by transverse binary fission or budding Or some can reproduce sexually by conjugation

Conjugation:
1. Random contact brings individuals of opposite mating types together (called conjugants) 2. Meiosis results in four haploid pronuclei 3. Three pronuclei and the macronucleus degenerate. Mitosis and mutual exchange of pronuclei is followed by fusion of the pronuclei. 4. Conjugants separate. Nuclear divisions that restore nuclear characteristics of species follow. Cytoplasmic divisions may accompany these events

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Conjugation in Paramecium Fig. 8.21

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Symbiotic Ciliates
Some are mutualistic by inhabiting the rumen of many hoofed animals Balantidium coli is a parasitic ciliate that lives in the large intestine of humans, pigs, and other mammals.

EOC Figure

The End

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