PROTOZOA

Group F
Rimisha Raima Das
ID: 22236091

Zubayer Bin Hossain

ID: 22236092

Mithila biswas
ID: 22236100

Khandaker Ferdous Ishtiaq

ID: 22236109

Nada Mohammad Noor

ID: 22236121

Saima Alam
ID: 22236122
PROTOZOA
Protozoa are single-celled, microscopic organisms that are found in almost every habitat on earth, including soil, water,
and the bodies of plants and animals. They are part of the kingdom Protista, which also includes algae and slime molds.
Protozoa are extremely diverse and can be found in a variety of shapes, sizes, and forms. Some protozoa are free-
living, while others are parasitic, living inside or on other organisms.

Protozoa are classified based on their method of locomotion. Some protozoa move using cilia, which are hair-like
projections that cover the surface of the cell. Others use flagella, which are whip-like structures that propel the cell
forward. Some protozoa move using pseudopodia, which are temporary extensions of the cell membrane that allow the
cell to move like an amoeba.

Protozoa play important roles in the environment as decomposers, and they are also important members of aquatic food
webs. Some protozoa are also important in medical research, as they can be used to study basic biological processes
such as cell division and motility.

However, some protozoa are also pathogenic and can cause diseases such as malaria, African sleeping sickness, and
giardiasis. These diseases can be transmitted through contaminated water or food, or through the bites of infected
insects. In addition, some protozoa can infect animals and cause diseases such as toxoplasmosis and coccidiosis.
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.
Nutrition of protozoa

• Mostly aerobie heterotrophs (many intestinal Protozoa

are capable of anaerobic growth).
• Two groups contain chlorophyll e.g Dinoflagellets
euglenoids (often considered algae).
• Live in areas supply of water
• Some transport food across the plasma membrane
• Some required specialized structure to take food as
they have protective covering.
• Cilliates take their food by waving their cilla towands a
mouth like structure known as cytosome.
• Amebae engulf food via pseudopods and
phagocytizing.
• Digestion takes place in membrane enclosed vacuoles
and waste may be eliminated through plasma
membrane anal bone.
STRUCTURE
• Unicellular Eukaryotes

NUCLEUS OF PROTOZOA
• Nucleus is enclosed in a membrane.
• Other than ciliates, the nuclease is vesicular.
• Scattered Chromatin.
• One type of vesicular nucleus contains a more or less central body, called endosome.
• Parasitic Amebae lack DNA
• Apicomplexa contains more than one nucleus
• Cilliates have both of micronuclease and macronuclease which appear define homogenous in composition.

CYTOPLASM OF PROTOZOA
• Enclosed by plasma membrane.
• Differentiated into ectoplasm (outer, transport layer) ,endoplasm (inner layer containing organelles)
• Parasatic protozoa contains mitochondria, Golgi body, lysosome, food vacuoles.
Contractile vacuole:
• Osmoregularity organelle of free living amebae which controls intracellular
water balance.

Radiating Canals:
• water collecting canals.
• Contracts and forces extra water out of the cell .

Micronlucleas:
• Germ line nucleas.
• Does not express genes.
• Provides the nucleas RNA for vegetative growth.

Cilia:
• Locomotion or feeding both.
• Present in ciliates class

Cytosome:
• Ciliophora and excovata contains cytosome.
• Specialized for phagocytosis

Cytoproct:
• Reffered as anal pore.
• Through which undigested food, water or gas are expelled.
 REPRODUCTION OF PROTOZOA

Protozoa can reproduce both

sexually and asexually. Some
protozoa have complex life
Sexual Reproduction cycles that involve both sexual Asexual Reproduction
and asexual reproduction.
Some protozoa need one or
more host to reproduce
successfully.
  Binary Fission:
- Cytoplasmic division followed by mitosis, producing two organisms.
- Many protozoa including amoeba, euglena reproduce through binary fission.

Asexual Reproduction
• Budding:
- A small outgrowth develops on the parent cell and eventually detaches to form a new cell.
- Stentor is a ciliate protozoan that can reproduce asexually by budding.
 
 
  Schizogony or Multiple Fission:
- Here the nucleus undergoes multiple divisions before the cell divides and
form many nuclei.
- A small portion of cytoplasm concentrates around each nucleus and the
single cell divides into multiple daughter cells.
- Some parasitic protozoa including such as Toxoplasma, Theileria and some
Asexual Reproduction sporozoa such as Plasmodium undergoes schizogony.
 
  Conjugation:
- Two cells fuse and one haploid micronucleus from each cell migrates to the
other.
- This haploid micronucleus fuses with the haloid micronucleus within the cell.
- Each fertilized cell separates and later divides into daughter cell with
recombined DNA.
Sexual Reproduction - Conjugation contributes to genetic diversity within protozoan population.
- Occurs in ciliates, such as Paramecium and some flagellates.
  Gametogony:
- Two sexually different gamete unites and produce a diploid zygote.
- Few protozoa including Trypanosoma, Giardia undergoes gametogony.
 
Reproductive Structure:
- Under certain adverse condition, some protozoa forms specialized

Sexual Reproduction reproductive structure known as cyst.

- Cyst is a protective capsule that allows them to survive in unfavorable
condition.
- Cyst also enables a parasitic protozoon to survive outside host cell, which is
crucial for transmission to a new host.
 Medically Important Protozoa
CLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS: EXCAVATA

MEDICALLY EUGLENOZOA

IMPORTANT AMEBAE
PROTOZOA
APICOMPLEXA
 Medically Important Protozoa
• flagella
EXCAVATA
CLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS:
• no mitochondria
• binary fission

EUGLENOZOA
Giardia Intestinalis
• human intestines
• excreted in feces as cyst
AMEBAE
Trichomonas vaginalis
• unadulating membrane
APICOMPLEXA • sexually transmitted
• found in genital areas
 Medically Important Protozoa
• Disc-shaped mitochondria
EXCAVATACLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS: • Pellicle
• Flagellum
• Photoautotrophs
• Trypanosoma
EUGLENOZOA
T. Brucei
• African sleeping sickness
• Tsetse fly
AMEBAE • high fever, body pain

T. Cruzi
• Chagas disease
APICOMPLEXA • kissing bug
• schizogony
• defecates on wound
 Medically Important Protozoa
• Inhabit freshwater, sea or soil
EXCAVATACLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS: • Pseudopods
• No pellicle
• Binary fission/cyst formation

EUGLENOZOA
Entamoeba hystolytica
• Transmitted by contaminated food or water
• Ingestion of cyst
AMEBAE • Cause dysentery

APICOMPLEXA
 The name of the taxon Apicomplexa derives from
two Latin words—apex (top) and complexus
Medically Important Protozoa
(infolds).
• Unicellular
EXCAVATACLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS: • Obligate intracellular parasite
• Has apicoplast and apical complex structure
• Has enzymes that can penetrate deep into the host’s
tissues
• Has a complex life cycle that involves transmission
EUGLENOZOA between several hosts
• Large phylum
• Examples include Plasmodium, Babesia microti (parasite
of red blood cells, Cryptosporidium (parasite of small
intestine cells)
AMEBAE
Plasmodium
• Causative agent of malaria, i.e Plasmodium vivax,
Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium falciparum (Most
violent)
APICOMPLEXA • Malaria is transmitted to humans by female mosquitoes of
the genus Anopheles
• Consists of two hosts, definitive host i.emosquito and
intermediate host i.e human
• Asexual cycle (Schizogony) takes place in erythrocytes in
human host, sexual cycle (Sporogony) takes place in
mosquito.
Medically Important Protozoa
CLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS:
 Medically Important Protozoa
Ciliates
CLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS:
Ciliates are a group of protozoa characterized by
the presence of hair-like structures called cilia,
which they use for locomotion and feeding. They
are commonly found in aquatic environments,
such as ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Some of the key features of ciliates include:

They have a well-developed organelle called the

macronucleus, which controls gene expression
and is essential for cell function.
They reproduce asexually by binary fission, and
also have the ability to undergo sexual
reproduction through a process called
conjugation.
 Medically Important Protozoa
CLASSIFIED INTO 4 GROUPS:
Conclusion
In conclusion, protozoa are a diverse group of
unicellular eukaryotic organisms with a wide
range of morphologies and lifestyles. They play REFERENCE:
important roles in nutrient cycling, food webs, and Tortora, G. J., Funke, B. R., &
disease transmission. Ciliates, in particular, are a Case, C. L. (2003). Microbiology:
fascinating group of protozoa with specialized An Introduction.
structures and complex life cycles, and are an https://doi.org/10.1604/9780805
376135
important component of aquatic ecosystems.
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