 MCB 206

(GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY II)

SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF ALGAE AND PROTOZOA

Lecture by: Mrs. Amupitan A.O.

 Outline
 Introduction to an algae
 Characteristics/Unique features of algae
The basis for classification of algae
 Basic classification of algae
 Classification of algae proposed by F.E.
Fritsh. (Fritshs system of classification of algae)

Introduction
What are algae?
Algae:
 are eukaryotic organisms
 They have no roots, stems, or leaves
 have chlorophyll and other pigments for carrying out photosynthesis
 Algae can be multicellular or unicellular.
 Unicellular algae: occur most frequently in water, especially plankton
 Phytoplankton: is the population of
free‐floating microorganisms
 are composed primarily of unicellular algae
 algae may occur in moist soil or on the surface of moist rocks and wood
Plants generally include:
 tall trees
 bushy shrubs
 smaller versions of plants (microscopic
ones) e.g. an algae

 Characteristics/ features of algae

 These are simple living organisms that have chlorophyll
 They are the simplest forms of producers in a food chain.
 They can be single-celled or multicellular.
 Known to be largely aquatic
 Algae have a thalloid structure, without much differentiation
 They(algae) can be found in a variety of habitats such as freshwater, marine,
moist stones, wood, and even soil
 Algae are economically very important
 A mutual association is found in between fungi and algae, leading to an
entirely new organism called the lichens i. e Algae living with fungi
are lichens
 They are a source of crude oil
 are used by humans for many pharmaceutical and industrial products
 Algae can be microscopic or even as large as 60 meters in length
 They can exist singly or in colonies like the Volvox
 May be unicellular like Chlamydomonas or may even have a filamentous
structure like Spirogyra and Ulothrix.

 Unique features of algae

 The unique feature of algae is the ability to perform photosynthesis.
 This is what differentiates them from other organisms and is also the main
reason for their inclusion in the plant kingdom
 The mode of nutrition is naturally autotrophic mode.

Mode of reproduction found in algae

This is either by
 vegetative mode
 asexual mode
 sexual mode
 Vegetative reproduction occurs by fragmentation, wherein each fragment
develops into a thallus
 Reproduction in algae
 occurs in both asexual and sexual forms
 Asexual reproduction occurs through the:
 fragmentation of colonial and filamentous algae
 Spore formation by mitosis(as in fungi).
 Binary fission (as in bacteria).
During sexual reproduction:
 algae form differentiated sex cells that fuse to produce a diploid zygote with
two sets of chromosomes
 The zygote develops into a sexual spore,
 This germinates when conditions are favourable to reproduce and reform the
haploid organism having a single set of chromosomes
 This pattern of reproduction is called alternation of generations.

 Mode of reproduction found in algae

Asexual reproduction occurs by:
 the production of spores, called the zoospores
 These zoospores have flagella that make them motile
 On germination, they give rise to new plants.
The primary classification of algae is based on the following five criteria:
 Photosynthetic apparatus and pigments
 Nature of reserve food
 Nature of cell wall components
 Type, number and attachment of flagella
 Cell structure

Listed below are the algologists that classify algae:

F.E. Fritsch’s Classification (1935)
 G.M. Smith’s Classification (1950)
 Round’s Classification (1973)
 Bold and Wynne’s Classification (1985)
 Robert Edward Lee’s Classification (1989)
 Many algologists gave a classification of algae but the most authentic and
comprehensive classification was proposed by F. E. Fritsch (1935-1948)
 who published his voluminous work in the form of a book entitled “The
Structure and Reproduction of Algae” in two-volume
 Algae are simple autotrophic plants showing following diagnostic
characters:Autotrophic mode of nutrition with few exceptions

 CLASSIFICATION OF ALGAE By F. E. Fritsch

Fristch divided algae into 11 classes on the following basis:
 Chemical nature of pigments
 Reserve food materials
 Thallus structure. (No vascular tissue)
 Thallus structure.Thalloid plant body
 No vascular tissue
 Zygote never develops into an embry
 Sex organs, whether unicellular or multicellular
 multicellular are without a layer of jacket

 F.E. Fritsch’s Classification (1935)

 Number of flagella in the motile cells
 mode of attachment of flagella in the motile cells
 Method of reproduction
 Variation in the life cycles (Life
cycles of various types.)
 F.E. Fritsch’s Classification (1935) contd.
 Chlorophyceae (green algae)
 Xanthophyceae (Yellow-green algae)
 Chrysophyceae
 Bacillariophyceae (Diatoms)
 Cryptophyceae
 Dinophyceae (Dinoflagellates)
 Chloromonadineae

 F.E. Fritsch’s Classification (1935) contd.

 Euglenineae
 Phaeophyceae (Brown algae)
 Rhodophyceae (Red algae)
 Myxophyceae (blue-green algae)

Primary classification of algae based on certain morphological and physiological

features:
 Pigment composition
 Chemical nature of reserve food
 Kind of flagella
 number of flagella
 point of insertion of flagella
 relative length of flagella
 Presence or absence of a definite nucleus

 Class Chlorophyceae (Grass green algae)

 Dominant pigment are chlorophyll a, and chlorophyll b, along with
carotenoids and xanthophlls
 Reserve food starch but oil in perennating structures
 Chloroplast have pyrenoids
 Starch grains are usually aggregated around the pyrenoids
 Flagella if present, are of equal length, whiplash type and inserted at the
anterior end
 Fresh water, marine and terrestrial:
 unicellular motile forms
 colonial, nonmotile thalli as well as filamentous thallus

The class Chlorophyceae is divided into the following orders:

Order. 1. Volvocales:
The order Volvocales includes 60 genera and about 500 species.
Important characteristics:
• They are commonly found in freshwater bodies. Some are grown in brackish
water, marine water, and also on soil surfaces.
• The plant body or thallus is unicellular or multicellular(many-celled) and the
multicellular ones are colonial in habit.
• Both unicellular and colonial members are motile(Having flagella), either
throughout or some part of their life cycles.
• They reproduce both sexually and asexually. Asexual reproduction takes
place by zoospores, aplanospores, hypnospores, etc., and sexual reproduction
takes place by isogamy, anisogamy, and oogamy.
Classification:
Fritsch (1935) divided the order Volvocales into 3 suborders and 7 families.
Order. Volvocales:
• Sub order. Chlamydomonadineae
• Sub order. Tetrasporineae
• Sub order. Chlorodendrineae
Order. 2. Ulotrichales
Order Ulotricales includes 80 genera and about 430 species. Most of them are
found in freshwater, while a few are marine (e.g., Ulva).
Important characteristics:
• They are commonly found in freshwater bodies(e.g., Ulothrix) or on soil, but
a few are marine (e.g., Ulva, Enteromorpha).
• The plant body is commonly unbranched filament like, but in Ulvaceae, it
is parenchymatous or foliaceous.
• Cells are uninucleate(single nucleus) and contain different types of chloro-
plast like C-shaped, parietal, axial, etc.
• Each chloroplast contains/have one or more pyrenoids.
• Asexual reproduction occurs through biflagellate zoospores or Quadri-
flagellate zoospores, aplanospore, and akinetes.
• Sexual reproduction takes place by the gametic union and may be
isogamous, anisogamous, or oogamous type.
Classification:
Fritsch (1935) divided the order Ulotrichales into 3 suborders and 6 families.
Order. Ulotrichales
Sub order. Ulotrichineae
Family. Ulotrichaceae
• Microsporaceae
• Cylindrocapsaceae
• Ulvaceae
Sub order. Prasiolineae
Family. Prasiolaceae
Sub order. Sphaeropleineae
Family. Sphaeropleaceae
Family. Ulotrichaceae
Important characteristics of Ulotrichaceae
• The plant body is an unbranched filament.
• Cells of the filament are uninucleate(One Nucleus).
• Cells have single girdle-shaped, parietal chloroplasts.
• Sexual reproduction is isogamous and takes place by the union of
biflagellated gametes
Order. 3. Chaetophorales:
Chaetophorales are plants with hair or setae
Important characteristics:
• Members of Chaetophorales are generally found in freshwater.
• The plant body is filamentous and shows prominent heterotrichous(prostrate
+Erect system) habit; however, in Coleochaete, the prostrate system(creeping) is
well- developed and in Microthamnion the erect system is well-developed.
• Some members have setae (Coleochaete) or hairs (Stigeoclonium) of
different types. The hairs may be in the form of single elongated cells or rows of
fine and elongated cells.
• The cells contain a parietal-shaped chloroplast with many pyrenoids (starch-
containing bodies).
• The erect system bears/contains reproductive structures.
• Vegetative reproduction takes place/done by fragmentation.
• Asexual reproduction occurs through biflagellate zoospores or
quadriflagellate zoospores, aplanospores, or akinetes.
• Sexual reproduction is commonly isogamous (Fritschiella, Stigeoclonium),
anisogamy (Aphanochaete), and oogamy (Coleochaete) are found
occasionally/Rarely.
Fritsch (1935) classified this order into 5 families.
These are Chaetophoraceae, Trentepohliaceae, Coleochaetaceae,
Chaetosphaeridiaceae, and Pleurococcaceae.
Family. Coleochaetaceae:
Important characteristics:
• Plant bodies possess a typical heterotrichous(erect + prostrate) habit.
Generally, the projecting(upward) system is dominant and looks like a disc.
• Cells are uninucleate(one Nucleus) with a single lamellate parietal
chloroplast with one or two pyrenoids(Starch containing bodies).
• All or some cells bear/having/containing a single long sheathed bristle or
seta.
• The sheath is present in the form of a basal cylinder of mucilage layer.
• The growth always takes place through the apical region.
• Asexual reproduction takes place by means of biflagellated zoospores.
• Sexual reproduction is an oogamous type.
Order. 4. Oedogoniales

Important characteristics:
• Most of the members grow in fresh water. The order is represented by only
three genera, Oedogomium, Oedocladium, and Bulbochaete.
• They are filamentous and the filaments may be branched (Oedocladium and
Bulbochaete) or unbranched (Oedogomium).
• The plant body is differentiated into the apical and basal regions.
• It consists of cylindrical cells and the cells are longer than breadth.
• Cells are uninucleated and have reticulate chloroplast with pyrenoids.
• Cell division is elaborate and a cap is formed at the upper end of the
daughter cell.
• Asexual reproduction takes place by pyriform, multinucleate, and
multiflagellate zoospores. Flagella are arranged in a ring around the beak-like
anterior end.
• Sexual reproduction is an advanced oogamous type.
• Both androspores and antherozoids are multiflagellate.
• Male gametes are similar to zoospores but smaller in size.
• Heterothallic or dioecious species are of two types: macrandrous (where
male and female filaments are of normal size) and nannandrous type (where the
male is very small i.e., dwarf male or nannandrium and the female one is of
normal size.
Classification:
According to Fritsch (1935), the order Oedogoniales contains only one family
Oedogoniaceae. The family has only three genera: Oedogomium,
Oedocladium, and Bulbochaete.
Order.5. Siphonales:
Important characteristics:
• Most of the members of Siphonales are marine. A few members are
freshwater. Some members grow as epiphytes or endophytes.
• The thalloid plant body is variously branched, aseptate and multinucleate
i.e., coenocytic.
• Plant body may be simple vesicular type (Protosiphon) to much-branched
filamentous type.
• Numerous small and discoid chromato- phores are arranged peripherally
inside the thallus.
• Nuclei are present in the inner layer.
• The characteristic pigments of this order are siphonin and siphonoxanthin.
• Presence of siphon-like central vacuole throughout the plant body, which
remains filled with sap. The cytoplasm is present between the outer wall and
the vacuole. The order is named “Siphonales” because of the presence of a siphon-
like vacuole.
• The plant reproduces by all three means vegetative, asexual, and sexual.
Vegetative reproduction takes place by fragmentation, asexual reproduction by
multiflagellate zoospore, aplanospore or hypnospore, and sexual reproduction by
oogamy. Rarely do they perform iso- and anisogamy.
Classification:
Fritsch (1935) divided the order Siphonales into 9 families.
These are:
• Protosiphonaceae
• Caulerpaceae
• Dasycladaceae
• Derbesiaceae
• Codiaceae
• Valoniaceae
• Chaetosiphonaceae
• Phyllosiphonaceae
• Vaucheriaceae.
This classification is also followed by M. O. P. lyenger (1951)
Order.6. Charales

Important characteristics:
• Members of this order are distributed throughout the world.
• Commonly they are found in freshwater with a muddy or sandy bottom and
also in water flowing over limestone.
• Plants are macroscopic, much branched, and erect and commonly up to 30
cm in length.
• The plants are differentiated into nodes and internodes. Some of the nodes
bear branches of unlimited growth, those are again divided into nodes and
internodes. Each node of the main axis and branch of unlimited growth bear a
number of branches of limited growth.
• Cells are very long, uninucleated, and contain many discoid chloroplasts.
• Most of the species show cortication in the internodes. The cortex consists of
a vertically elongated row of cells.
• Sexual reproduction is a highly advanced, oogamous type.
• The male and female reproductive bodies are globule and nucule,
respectively. Globule develops many antherozoids and nucule contains only one
egg.
• A zygote is produced after sexual reproduction. It shows very elaborate post-
fertilization changes. During germination, the zygote undergoes meiosis and
gradually it forms the plant body.
Classification:
Fritsch (1935) placed the order Charales under the class Chlorophyceae includes
only one family the Characeae having 2 subfamilies: 1. Nitelleae and 2. Chareae.
Bold and Wynne (1978) placed the order Charales alone under the only class
Charophyceae, under the division Charophyta. The order Charales includes only
one family Characeae.Divn. Charophyta: Class. Charophyceae.
• C. Bold and M. J. Wynne (1978) in their classification took out Chara along
with some other genera like Tolypella, Nitella, Nitellopsis, Protochara,
Lamprothamnium, and Lychnotham- nus from Chlorophyceae and placed them in a
separate Division Charophyta. The Charophyta consists of a single class
Charophyceae; the order Charales and the family Characeae.Chlorophyceae
Important characteristics of Characeae:
• The division Charophyta includes the members of green algae, commonly
known as stoneworts.
• The plant body shows much elaboration of vegetative structures encrusted
with calcium carbonate.
• The plant body is erect and consists of elongated, jointed, commonly green
main axis bearing branches, differentiated into nodes and internodes.
• Each node bears a whorl of lateral branchlets.
• Asexual reproduction is absent.
• Sexual reproduction is of oogamous type.
• Antheridia (globule) and oogonia (nucule) show more complexity and
elaboration than other Chlorophycean members.
• Motile cells are asymmetrical and two flagella are attached in the lateral
position of an antherozoid.
• Sex organs are so large that they can be visible to the naked eye.
• Zygotes on germination form protonema (Chara, Nitella) from which vege-
tative plants are developed.
.Order.7. Chlorococcales:
• Unicellular or colonial,
• non-motile in the vegetative condition,
• reproduced by zoospores or aplanospore;
• almost exclusive fresh water.
Examples:
• Hydrodictyon
• Pediastrum, etc.
Order.8. Cladophorales:
• Simple or branched,
• filamentous with cells containing two too many nuclei and usually with
elaborate large chloroplasts;
• mostly isogamous;
• freshwater and marine.
Example: Cladophora.
Order.9. Conjugales:
• Most are Unicellular or colonial (generally filamentous) with elaborate
chloroplasts;
• They Have motile gametes ;
• Reproduction takes place by vegetative cell division or by conjugation of
amoeboid gametes;
• exclusively freshwater.
Examples:
• Spirogyra,
• Zygnema,
• Cosmarium,
• Closterium,
Categories

 Motile cells with equal flagella of the same length

 Sexual rep iso to oogamous
 Meiosis is usually zygotic
 Life cycle is usually haplontic

 Xanthophyceae (Yellow-green algae)

 Dominant pigments chlotophyl a, chlorophyl e, βcarotene and a special
xanthopylls
and a special xanthophyll
 Reserve food material is oil and leucosin
 Pyrenoid is absent

 Flagella, if present, are two, unequal and inserted anteriorly. The short
flagellum is of whiplash type and the longer one is tinsel shaped

Fritsch (1935) recognizes the following orders in the class Xanthophyceae:

• Order Heterochloridales: e.g. Heterochloris
 Family Heterochloridaceae (e.g., Heterochloris)
 Family Heterocapsaceae (e.g., Chlorogloea)
 Family Mischococcaceae (e.g., Mischococcus)
 Family Heterorhizidaceae (e.g., Rhizolekane)

• Order Heterococcales: Myxochloris

• Family Halosphaeraceae (e.g., Halosphaera)
• Family Myxochloridaceae (e.g., Myxochloris)
• Family Chlorobotrydaceae(e.g., Chlorobotrys)
• Family Chlorotheciaceae (e.g., Chlorothecium)
• Family Ophiocytiaceae (e.g., Ophiocytium)

• Order Heterotrichales
 Family Tribonemataceae (e.g., Tribonema)
 Family Heterocloniaceae (e.g., Heterodendron

• Order Heterosiphonales
 Family Botrydiaceae (e.g., Botrydium)

 Xanthophycea
 Freshwater or terrestrial
 Motile cells with unequal flag. of different types
 Sex rep predominantly iso rarely oogamous
 L.C. haplontic with zygotic meiosis

Figure 2. Xanthophyceae (Yellow-green algae)

 Chrysophyceae
 Mostly freshwater sometimes marine
 Chlorophyl a and c and an excess of phycochrysin (yellow-orange) pigments
 Reserve food oil and leucosin
 Sexual reproduction is rare, when present isogamous
 Motile cells have 1 or 2 flagella of equal or rarely unequal length.

 Bacillariophyceae (Diatoms)
 Freshwater as well as marine
 Cell wall silicaceous with two halves
 Chlorophyl a and c, β- carotene,and
xanthophylls (lutein and fucoxathin)
 Reserve food oil, chrysolaminarin reserve food isVolutin
 Motile stages with 1 or 2 tinsel flagella
 Meiosis gametogenic
 Sex rep isogamous with formation of special spores (auxospores)
 Life cycle monogenic and diplontic

Cryptophyceae
 Found in cold and subsurface of freshwater as well as marine habitat
 Pigment chlorophyll a, c, β - carotene, xanthophyll, phycocyanin and
phycoerythrin but these are different from those of Cyanophyceae
 Reserve food starch
 pyrenoid present
 Mostly motile with unequal flagella
 Sexual reproduction isogamous
 Dinophyceae (Dinoflagellates)
 Freshwater as well as marine and unicellular, motile biflagellate forms. -
Pigments chlorophyll a and c, βcarotene, phycoerythrin, red peridinin
 Reserve food starch and fat
 Sexual rep rare, when present isogamous

Chloromonadineae
 Simple freshwater forms
 Bright green due to an excess of chlorophylls and xanthophylls
 Reserve food fat
 Reproduction by longitudinal division

Euglenineae
 Found in freshwater as well saline habitat
 Unicellular motile forms with one or two flagella
 Cell wall absent , pellicle present. Pigments chl a and b -Rep by fission

Phaeophyceae
 Mostly marine. Simplest thallus organization is heterotrichous filamantous
thallus
 Higher forms are large bulky parenchymatous thalli which may attain a length
of several meters. - Chromatophores have chl a and c, β-carotene, fucoxanthin
 Reserve food laminarin and mannitol

 Motile rep structures with two laterally inserted flag. of unequal length and
type
 Sexual reproduction is isogamy to oogamy
 Life Cycle is digenic with isomorphic or hetermorphic alternation of
generations. or monogenic (diplontic) e.g. members of order fucales

Rhodophyceae (Red algae)

 Majority are marine with a few exceptions
 Pigments are chl a, d, β- carotene, rPhycocyanin and r-phycoerythrin
 Reserve food is floridean starch
 Presence of pit connections common
 Motile stages completely absent in the life cycle and the male gamete is
known as spermatium

Myxophyceae
 Freshwater, terrestrial , epiphytic, endophytic and symbiotic
 Main pigments chl a, β-carotene, xanthophylls, c-phycocyanin and
cphycoerythrin, allophycocyanin
 Reserve food glycogen, cyanophycean starch, metachromatin granules
 Conventional sexual rep absent

 Divisions of Unicellular Algae

 Five divisions of unicellular algae are considered in microbiology because of
their microscopic form and their unicellular characteristic
 These organisms are classified in the kingdom Protista.

Division Chlorophyta.
 possess green chlorophyll pigments and carotenoid pigments
 A representative member is Chlamydomonas, often used in research, as a
laboratory specimen
 Chlamydomonas produces zoospores, which are flagellated
 Organisms such as Chlamydomonas are believed to be evolutionary ancestors
of other species Volvox and Spirogyra

 Division Charophyta. Members of the

division Charophyta are stoneworts. Stoneworts cover the bottoms of ponds
and may be a source of limestone.
 Division Euglenophyta. Members of the division Euglenophyta include the
common organism Euglena. These organisms have chlorophyll and carotenoid
pigments for photosynthesis and flagella for movement. They share many
characteristics with both plants and animals and are believed to be a basic
stock of evolution.
 A typical Euglena cell has a large nucleus and nucleolus. Contractile vacuoles
help empty water from the organism, and two flagella arise at one end of the
cell. Reproduction occurs by binary fission in the longitudinal plane.

 Division Chrysophyta. Members of the

division Chrysophyta are brown and yellow‐green algae. These organisms
contain chlorophyll pigments as well as special carotenoid pigments called
fucoxanthins. Fucoxanthins give the golden‐brown color to members of the
division. Members of the division include the diatoms, oceanic
photosynthetic algae found at the bases of many food chains. Diatoms
contribute immense amounts of oxygen to the atmosphere and occupy key
places in the spectrum of living things because they convert the sun's energy
into the energy in carbohydrates.

 Division Pyrrophyta. Members of the division Pyrrophyta are pigmented

marine forms that include the dinoflagellates, amoeboid cells with flagella as
well as protective cellulose plates that surround the cells. They have
chlorophyll, carotenoid, and xanthophyll pigments. Dinoflagellates often have
a brown or yellow color, and they reproduce by longitudinal division through
mitosis. Dinoflagellates make up a large portion of marine plankton and are
essential to many of the ocean food chains. Certain species are luminescent.
Others have red or orange pigments; when these organisms multiply at
abnormally high rates, they cause the “red tides.

PROTOZOA
Outline
 Introduction
 General Concepts/ Characteristics of Protozoa
 Cellular structures
 Classification of protozoans

Introduction
 are found in almost every possible habitat
 Fossil record in the form of shells in sedimentary rocks show that protozoa
were present in the Precambrian era(Age of Early Life.).
The Protozoa are considered to be:
 a subkingdom of the kingdom Protista, (but were placed in the kingdom
Animalia in the classical system)
 More than 60,000 species have been described and classified
 They are either free-living or parasites
 most species are free-living organisms, but all higher animals are infected
with one or more species of protozoa
 Anton van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to see protozoa, using
microscopes he constructed with simple lenses
 Between 1674 and 1716, he described, in addition to free-living protozoa,
several parasitic species from animals, and Giardia lamblia from his own
stools.

General Concepts/Characteristics of Protozoa

Structure
Protozoa are:
 microscopic unicellular eukaryotes, heterotrophic organisms
 have a relatively complex internal structure and carry out complex metabolic
activities
 Structures contd.
 Many different cell organelles, perform various tasks performed by different
organs in higher animals, e.g. mouth, anus, intestinal tract, etc
 Some, have structures for propulsion or other types of movement
 They lack a cell wall
 Some of the species are found in extreme environments like hot springs
 Some of them form resting cyst to overcome dry environments.

Habitat
Protozoa:
 Are found in the aquatic environment
 live in freshwater or oceans
 Some are free-living and some are parasitic in plants and animals
 Are mostly aerobic but some are anaerobic and present in the rumen or human
intestine.

 Size and Shape

The size and shape of Protozoa:
 vary greatly/substantially in size and shape.
 Smaller species may be the size of fungal cells; larger species may be visible
to the unaided eye from microbial (1µm) to large enough and can be seen by
the naked eye
Some prtozoans:
 lack a rigid cell wall, so they are flexible and found in various shapes
 Some genera have cells surrounded by hard shells, while the cells of other
genera are enclosed only in a cell membrane.
 Cells are enclosed in a thin plasma membrane and
 Some of the species have a hard shell on the outer surface
 In some protozoans especially in ciliates, the cell is supported
by Pellicle, which may be flexible or rigid
 The pellicle give organisms a definite shape and help in locomotion
 Protozoal cells have no cell walls and therefore can assume an infinite variety
of shapes
 Most species causing human disease are members of the phyla
Sacromastigophora and Apicomplexa.
 Various diseases caused in animals and humans include:
 Plasmodium (malarial parasite),
 Trypanosoma (sleeping sickness),
 Trichomonas (trichomoniasis), etc.

 Cellular Structure
 They are unicellular organisms having a eukaryotic cell
 The metabolic functions are performed by some specialised internal structures
 They mostly have one membrane-bound nucleus in the cell
• The nucleus has diffused appearance due to scattered chromatin
• the vesicular nucleus contains a central body called endosome or nucleoli
• Nucleoli of apicomplexans have DNA, whereas amoeboids lack DNA in their
endosome
• Ciliates have micronucleus and macronucleus
• The plasma membrane encloses the cytoplasm and other locomotory
projections like flagella, pseudopodia, cilia
• Some of the genera have a membranous envelope called a pellicle, which
gives a definite shape to the cell.
• In some of the protozoans, epibiotic bacteria attach to the pellicle by their
fimbriae
 The cytoplasm is differentiated into outer ectoplasm and inner
endoplasm
 ectoplasm is transparent and endoplasm contains cell organel
• The cytoplasm is differentiated into outer ectoplasm and inner endoplasm,
ectoplasm is transparent and endoplasm contains cell organelles
• Some of the protozoa have cytostome for ingesting food. Food vacuoles are
present, where ingested food comes.

Ciliates have:
  a gullet
 a body cavity which opens outside
 central vacuole for osmoregulation, that
removes excess water
 Membrane-bound cell organelles, like
mitochondria, Golgi bodies, lysosomes
and other specialised structures are

 Nutrition
 Protozoa are heterotrophic and have holozoic nutrition
 They ingest their food by phagocytosis
 Some of the protozoan groups have a specialised structure
called cytostome for phagocytosis
 The pseudopodia of amoeboids help in catching the prey
 Thousands of cilia present in ciliates drive the food-laden water into the
gullet.
 The ingested food comes to the food vacuole and gets acted on by lysosomal
enzymes
 he digested food gets distributed throughout the cell
The nutrition of all protozoa is holozoic; that is, they require organic
materials, which may be particulate or in solution
 Amebae engulf particulate food or droplets through a sort of temporary
mouth, perform digestion and absorption in a food vacuole, and eject the
waste substances
 Many protozoa have a permanent mouth, the cytosome or micropore, through
which ingested food passes to become enclosed in food vacuoles
 Pinocytosis is a method of ingesting nutrient materials whereby fluid is drawn
through small, temporary openings in the body wall
 The ingested material becomes enclosed within a membrane to form a food
vacuole.
 All parasitic protozoa require preformed organic substances—that is, nutrition
is holozoic as in higher animals.

 Locomotion- Most of the protozoa species have flagella, cilia or pseudopodia.

Sporozoa, which don’t have any locomotory structure, have subpellicular
microtubules, which help in the slow movement.

 Life Cycle- The life cycle of most of the protozoa alternates between dormant
cyst stage and proliferating vegetative stage, e.g. trophozoites.
 The cyst stage can survive harsh conditions without water and nutrients. It can
remain outside the host for a longer duration and get transmitted.
 The trophozoite stage is infectious, and they feed and multiply during this
stage.
 Life Cycle Stages
 The stages of parasitic protozoa that actively feed and multiply are frequently
called trophozoites; in some protozoa, other terms are used for these stages.
Cysts are stages with a protective membrane or thickened wall. Protozoan
cysts that must survive outside the host usually have more resistant walls than
cysts that form in tissues.

 Reproduction- Mostly they reproduce by asexual means. They multiply by

binary fission, longitudinal fission, transverse fission or budding.
 In some of the species, sexual reproduction is present. Sexual reproduction is
by conjugation, syngamy or by gametocyte formation.
 Reproduction in the Protozoa may be asexual, as in the amoebae and
flagellates that infect humans, or both asexual and sexual, as in the
Apicomplexa of medical importance. The most common type of asexual
multiplication is binary fission, in which the organelles are duplicated and the
protozoan then divides into two complete organisms. The division
 longitudinal in the flagellates and transverse in the ciliates; amebae have no
apparent anterior-posterior axis.

Reproduction
Binary fission, the most common form of reproduction, is asexual; multiple
asexual division occurs in some forms. Both sexual and asexual reproduction occur
in the Apicomplexa
 Classification of Protozoa
The classification of protozoa is based on:
 Light
 electron microscopic morphology
 Based on these, the protozoa are currently
classified into six phyla

 Protozoa: Protozoa are eukaryotic, unicellular organisms which come under

the kingdom Protista.
 Characteristics of protozoans are as follows:
• Protozoans are single-celled organisms.
• They are either free-living or parasites.
• There are more than 6500 species of protozoans.
• They lack a cell wall.
• They are generally heterotrophic.
• They divide by binary fission, schizogony, or budding.
• Examples of protozoa are Amoeba, Euglena, Paramecium, Leishmania, etc.

 General Characteristics of phylum Protozoa

• Kingdom: Protista.
• They are known as acellular or non-cellular organism. A protozoan body
consists of only mass of protoplasm, so they are called acellular or non-
cellular animals.
• Habitat: mostly aquatic, either free living or parasitic or commensal

4. Grade of organization: protoplasmic grade of organization. Single cell

performs all the vital activities thus the single cell acts like a whole body.
Body of protozoa is either naked or covered by a pellicle
6.Locomotion: Locomotory organ are pseudopodia (false foot) or cilia or absent.
7. Nutrition: Nutrition are holophytic (like plant) or holozoic (like animal) or
saprophytic or parasitic.
8. Digestion: digestion is intracellular, occurs in food vacuoles.
9. Respiration: through the body surface.
10.Osmoregulation: Contractile vacuoles helps in osmoregulation.
11.Reproduction:
 Asexually reproduction is through binary fission or budding.
 Sexual reproduction is by syngamy conjugation.
Classification of Protozoa
 All protozoal species are assigned to the kingdom Protista in the Whittaker
classification. The protozoa are then placed into various groups primarily on
the basis of how they move. The groups are called phyla (singular, phylum) by
some microbiologists, and classes by others.

Locomotion can be used as the criterion for classifying Protozoa.

Phylum Protozoa is divided into four classes:
 Rhizopoda/ Sarcodina
 Mastigophora
 Sporozoa
 Ciliata/ Cilliphora/
****Cnidsophora form complex spores
 Pseudopodia is the locomotory organ in Rhizopoda
 Flagella is the locomotory organ in Mastigophora
 No locomotory organ is present in Sporozoa
 Cilia as a locomotory organ in Ciliata.

 Classification of Protozoa:
Phylum protozoa is classified into four classes on the basis of locomotry
organs
• Locomotary organ:Mostly free living, some are parasitic

 Based on Reproduction
 Reproduction: asexually by binary fission and sexually by syngamy.
 No conjugation.
 Examples: Amoeba, Entamoeba

 Mastigophora or Flagellated protozoans:

 They are parasites or free-living.
 They have flagella for locomotion
 Their body is covered by a cuticle or pellicle
 Freshwater forms have a contractile vacuole
 Mastigophora or Flagellated protozoans:
 Reproduction is by binary fission (longitudinal division)
 Examples: Trypanosoma, Trichomonas, Giardia, Leishmania, etc.
Sarcodina or Amoeboids:
 They live in freshwater, sea or moist soil.
 The movement is by pseudopodia. They capture their prey by pseudopodia
 There is no definite shape and pellicle is absent
 The contractile vacuole is present in the amoeboids living in freshwater
 Reproduction is by binary fission and cyst formation
 Examples: Amoeba, Entamoeba, etc.

Sporozoa or Sporozoans:
 They are endoparasitic.
• They don’t have any specialised organ for locomotion(Locomotory organ:
Absent)
• The pellicle is present, which has subpellicular microtubules, that help in
movement
• Reproduction is by sporozoite formation
• Examples: Plasmodium, Myxidium, Nosema, Globidium, etc.
 Exclusively endoparasites
 Contractile vacuoles is absent
 Body covered with pellicle.
 Reproduction: Asexual reproduction by fission and Sexual reproduction by
spores
 Examples: Plasmodium, Monocystis

 Ciliophora or Ciliated protozoans:

 They are aquatic and move actively with the help of thousands of cilia.
• They have fixed shape due to covering of pellicle
• They may have tentacles, e.g. in the sub-class Suctoria
• Contractile vacuoles are present
• Some species have an organ for defence called trichocysts
• They move with the help of cilia and the movement of cilia also helps in
taking food inside the gullet
• They reproduce by transverse division and also form cysts
• Examples: Paramecium, Vorticella, Balantidium, etc.

• Locomotary organ: Cillia

• Body covered by pellicle.
• Reproduction:
 Asexual reproduction by binary fission
 Sexual reproduction by conjugation.
• Nucleiare of two types i.e. macronucleus and micronucleus.
• Examples: Paramecium, Voricella, Blantidium

 Characteristics of Protozoa
 protozoa are unicellulareukaryotic organisms, comprising of four organization
types:
 Amoebae
 Flagellates
 Cilliates
 Parasitic sporozoans
 Protozoa
 Are a diverse group of unicellular eukaryotic organisms
 They are heterotrophic organisms and they do not have chlorophyll e. g.
amoeba, paramecium euglena