VPAR101
ENTOMOLOGY ANDPARASITOLOGY
TOPIC: 11
Morphology and Physiology of Parasitic
Protozoans
STRUCTURE and FUNCTION
• Eukaryotic cells
• Has nucleus (Compact type- contains large
amount of chromatin and small amount of
nucleoplasm.
• Has endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria,
Golgi body and lysosomes.
• Nucleolus possess DNA
• Cytoplasm
o Extranuclear part of the protozoan cell
o Inner endoplasm- contains granules,
vacuoles and sometimes pigment.
o Outer ectoplasm- homogenous and
hyaline in appearance.
• Locomotion:
o Flagellum- a contractile fibre, arising
from a structure called a basal body,
and in some species is attached to the
body of the protozoan along its length,
so that when the flagellum beats, the
cell membrane (pellicle) is pulled up to
form an undulating membrane.
Sometimes, also, it projects beyond the
protozoan body as a free flagellum.
Life Cycle
During movement the shape of these
organisms is maintained by
microtubules in the pellicle. (common in
Mastigophora)
o Cilia- fine short hairs, each arising from
a basal body; these cover much of the
body surface and beat in unison to
effect movement. In such species a
mouth or cytostome is present and the
ciliary movement is also used to waft
food towards this opening.
o Pseudopodia- (amoeba-like organism)
which are prolongations of cytoplasm.
Movement occurs as the rest of the
cytoplasm flows into this prolongation.
The pseudopodium also possesses a
phagocytic capacity and can function
as a cup, which closes, enveloping
particulate food material in a vacuole.
o Some are capable of gliding
movement. (Toxoplasma, Sarcocystis)
• Nutrition of parasitic protozoa usually occurs by
pinocytosis or phagocytosis.
• Cell membrane envelops the object/particle
and carried into the cell.
• Undigested material is extruded from the cell.
• Some ciliated protozoa and also some stages
of the organisms causing malaria obtain food
through a cytostome.
• Excretion of waste products may occur directly
through the body wall or by means of contractile
vacuoles which discharge waste material
through the body wall or through an anal pore.
• Nutrition can be:
o Holophytic- forms some characteristics
of plants, carbohydrates being
synthesized by chlorophyll which is
carried in chromatophores or in the
bodies of algae or other protophyta
which inhabit the cytoplasm of the
protozoan.
o Holozoic- utilize preformed food
material derived from living animals or
plants. Foo d material is ingested by
pseudopodia or through cytoostome
and passes to a food vacuole for
digestion. Some ingest the tissue cell of
the host.
o Saprozoic- absorb nutrients through
the body wall, these being utilized
directly by the organism.
• The infective stage of some protozoa is called
a sporozoite.
• The term trophozoite is applied to that stage of
the protozoa in the host, which feeds and grows
until division commences.
• In most protozoa, reproduction is asexual and
is accomplished by binary fission or, in the
case of Babesia within erythrocytes, by
budding (asexual reproductive process in
which two or many daughter forms are
produced by the parent cell).
• Endopolyogeny- (internal budding) whereby
new progeny are formed within the parent cell.
It is seen in forms such as Toxoplasma and
Sarcocystis. (Endodyogeny is the simplified
=
form)
• Asexual reproduction, occurs in the subphylum
Sporozoa, is merogony (schizogony).
• The trophozoite grows to a large size while the
nucleus divides repeatedly. This structure is
called a meront (schizont) and then, will
produce merozoites.
• Sexual phase of reproduction is called
gametogony, which may be followed by a free‐
living maturation phase, or sporogony.
1
VPAR101
ENTOMOLOGY ANDPARASITOLOGY
TOPIC: 11

• Conjugation- sexual reproduction occur in the Kinetoplastida One to four flagella,

ciliates. Two organism exchange nuclear kinetoplast with
material. mitochondrial amnities.
• Syngamy- sexual reproduction in which two Mostly parasitic.
gametes fuse to form zygote. Trypanosomatidae Leaf-like, may be
• Isogamy- similar in size rounded.
• Anisogamy- differ in size Cryptobiidae Trypanosome-like forms;
• Sometimes, as in Eimeria, both asexual and biflagellate; parasitic in
sexual phases occur in the same host while in fish, amphibians etc.
others, such as Plasmodium, the asexual Retortamonadida Two or four flagella; one
phase occurs in the vertebrate host and the turned posteriorly and
sexual phase in the arthropod vector. associated with ventral
cytostomal area
CLASSIFICATION Retortamonadidae Two or four flagellae.
• Four phyla containing parasites of veterinary
interest:
o Sarcomastigophora (containing
Sarcodina and Mastigophora)
o Apicomplexa
o Microspora
o Ciliophora
• The old phylum Microspora has been moved to
the kingdom Fungi, as the phylum
Microsporidia.

KINGDOM PROTOZOA
Sarcomastigophora With flagella,
pseudopodia or both;
single nucleus; typically
no spore formation;
sexuality when present,
essentially syngamy.
Mastigophora One or more flagella
present in trophozoites;
asexual reproduction
basically binary fission,
sexual reproduction
unknown in many groups
Phytomastigophorea Chromatophores
present; commonly only
one or two emergent
flagella; mostly free-
living. (of no veterinary or
medical importance)
Zoomastigophorea Chromatophores absent;
one to many flagella;
amoeboid forms, with or
without flagella, in some
group; sexuality in some
groups; predominantly
parasitic.
Rhizomastigida Pseudopodia and/or one
to four flagella; mostly
free-living.