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Learning objectives

Upon completion of this unit , you should be

able to:

 Describe the general characteristics of Protozoans

 Describe the basic structure of protozoa

 Describe the basic properties of protozoa

 Describe the classification of parasitic protozoa

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OUTLINE
 General Introduction to protozoa
 Definition
 Diversity and importance of protozoa

 General morphology protozoa

 Basic structure of protozoa

 Basic properties of protozoa

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 Out…

 Protozoan life cycle stages

 Protozoan taxonomy

 General characteristics of the five main groups of

protozoa

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General introduction to protozoa

Definition

=single-celled eukaryotic organisms

=kingdom Protista

=Vary in size (1 -150um )

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 Int…

=Unknown until the invention of the microscope in 1675

=First recognized by antony van leewenhoek in 1676
= He described it as little animal or animacula

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 Diversity and importance of protozoa

Diversity

= protozoa are extremely diverse organisms and found in

a variety of niches

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10
 Div…

= 200,000 named species

= Most species are free-living in

= Freshwater
= marine environments
= decaying organic matter and soil

= Few are adapted to a parasitic life but all plant and animal
species have at least one protozoan parasite

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 Div…

=~10,000 are parasites in a wide range of hosts

=Vertebrate
= invertebrate
= Plants

= ~20 human pathogens

=Adapted to life in a wide range of sites within the host

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Ecological Niches in the Human Body:

 Skin: Leishmania
 Eye: Acanthamoeba

 Mouth: Amoebae and flagellates (usually non-pathogenic)

 Gut: Giardia, Entamoeba (and invasion to liver),
Cryptosporidium, Isospora,Balantidium
 G.U. tract: Trichomonas
 Bloodstream: Plasmodium, Trypanosoma

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 Div…

 Spleen: Leishmania
 Liver: Leishmania, Entamoeba
 Muscle: Trypanosoma cruzi
 CNS: Trypanosoma, Naegleria, Toxoplasma, Plasmodium

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 Importance of protozoa
 Medical importance
 Cause of more sickness and death than any other disease-
causing organisms
 significant damage to specific organs
 brain (African sleeping sickness), eyes (acanthamoeba

keratitis), heart (toxoplasmosis)

 reduced working capacity
 Loss of productivity

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 Imp…

 Veterinary importance

 Death

 Potential losses
 coccidiosis costs £8 million/yr.. Prophylactics

 Animal trypanosomiasis

 Zoonoses

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 General morphology of protozoa
 Protozoa exhibit a wide variety of morphologies

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 morp…

 Size: range from 1 to 150um

 • The smaller members, 1-10um
• include most of the intracellular parasites (e.g.
plasmodia, Leishmania …
 The biggest in size belongs to ciliate

e.g. Balantidium coli

 Shape:
 No single shape that represent all
 Ranges from amorphous shapeless amoeba to relatively
rigid forms

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 Basic structure of protozoa
1. Cell membrane

2. Cytoplasm
ectoplasm
endoplasm

3. Nucleus: two kinds of nuclei:

vesicular;
compact

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 Stru …

1. Cell membrane: chemically similar to all eukaryotic

cells
 Thin & flexible layer called plasmalemma (sarcodina)

 Also called pellicle or ectoderm or outer membrane

 More rigid wall , usually supported by microtubules

(subpellicular microtubules)

 Results in more constant and uniform shape than that of

amorphous amoeba

 Characteristics some flagellates and most ciliates

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21
 Stru…

2. Cytoplasm : divided in two areas

 Ectoplasm=outer transparent layer
 Locomotion,
 protection
 Sensation, respiration
 Excretion, Ingestion of food & etc

 Endoplasm= inner granular layer

 More fluid than ectoplasm, contains nuclei ,mitochondria,
vacuoles & etc
 metabolism

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 Stru…
3. Nucleus
 well defined nuclei bounded by nuclear envelop
 Most easily identifiable structure in protozoan cell
 Single/multiple

 Important for reproduction

 Similar in size or not

Eg G. lambilia, cilliate( micronuclei & macronuclei )

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 Stru…

 Two morphologically distinct nuclei:

 Vesicular
 with a clearly defined internal space resulting from

irregular distribution of chromatin

 Nucloplasm contains one or more Karyosome

 Karyosome
 nucleoli-like body

 Most protozoa of humans exhibit the vesicular type

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 Stru…

 Compact
 appears to be a solid mass
 densely packed chromatin

 Larger than vesicular nucleus

 Are found in ciliates

 Other structures like

 Mitochondria : sites for aerobic metabolism

 Lysosmes :degradation ingested materials

 Ribosome : sites for protein synthesis

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26
 Prop…
A. Locomotion : Structures that
mediate

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 Prop…
B. Reproduction
-General Protozoan Reproduction
Binary
Fission
Mutiple
Asexual Fission
Reproduction
Endodyogeny

Sexual Conjugation
Reproduction
Singamy
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 Prop…
1. Asexual reproduction

 Fission
 Division follows a sequence:
 organelles then nucleus then cytoplasm

A. Binary fission
 Each parent gives rise to two progeny

 Seen in amoeba ,flagellates ,ciliates

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 Prop…
B. Multiple fission/ Schizogony/ Merogony
 Rapid organelle and nuclear divisions occur at the cell
periphery

 Cytoplasmic segmentation to form separate organisms

called merozoites

 The Parent or multinucleated cell is called the schizont or

segmenter and the daughter cells are merozoites

 Seen in apicomplexan

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 Prop…

C. ENDOPOLYOGENY
 Daughter cells form in the center of the mother cell

(internal budding) rather than at the periphery

 Endodyogeny is a form of endopolyogeny where two

daughters are formed

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32
 Prop…

2. Sexual Reproduction
A. Conjugation
 Specialized sexual reproduction (mostly in ciliates)

 Involves nuclear exchange and union after cells join

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34 Sexual Recombination in Paramecium
 Prop…

B. Syngamy
 union of the entire cell (gametes fuse),seen in
apicomplexan

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 Prop…
C. Feeding

 Most parasitic protozoa are heterotrophic

 ingest particulates (phagotrophy)
 Phagocytosis
 Engulfment of solid material
 predation on bacteria or other protozoa
 Pinocytosis
 Invagination of membrane surrounding liquids

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 Prop…

 Peristome or cytostomal feeding

 Food is ingested at a definite site, using a specialized

feeding structure

 Diffusion =absorb solutes (osmotrophy) through cell

membrane

 Food may be retained in special intracellular reserves, or

vacuoles

 Some protozoan are photosynthetic (autotrophy) or

combination
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 Prop…
D. Excretion

 Undigested particles and wastes are extruded at the cell

surface by mechanisms that are the reverse of those used in
ingestion
 diffusion (primary mechanism)
 contractile vacuole (osmo-regulation)

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 Prop…
E. Respiration

 Both aerobic (Malaria) and anaerobic respiration (dysenteric

amoeba)

 Most parasitic protozoa are facultative anaerobes

 They can live in reduced oxygen environments

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 Prop…

Protozoa life cycle stages/terms

1. Vegetative form: trophozoites, zoitos
 stage of active feeding and reproduction
 commonly the pathogenic protozoan form
 Excystation : For the completion of life cycle ,cysts ingested
by the definitive host has to change to vegetative form

2. Resístant form: cyst

 Stage of inactivity
 Most resistant stage = hard to kill (no medication )
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 Prop…

Encystation

 Many protozoa form cysts – round cytoplasmic mass

surrounded by a rigid or semi-rigid cyst wall secreted by
organism

 Function:
1. Protect against unfavorable external environmental
conditions

2. Are the infective or transmissible form of parasite

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 Prop…
Conditions for encystment:

 Deficiency of host nutrient essential to the parasites

 Desiccation

 increase in osmotic pressure

 Accumulation of waste product in the medium

 Crowding

 43Low pH ,Temperature change

 Prop…

3. Oocyst:
 results from fusion of gametes in the Sporozoa

 Infective stage in most cases:

 passed in host feces in case of intestinal protozoans or
 in gut of the mosquito vector in the case of Plasmodium

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 Prop…

4. Sporozoite:
 Formed within oocyt via asexual fission & infects new host
cells of
 intestinal epithelial cells in intestinal protozoans or
 hepatocytes in case of Plasmodium

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 Prop…

5. Merozoite:
 Resulted from schizogeny of sporozoites

 May infect
 intestinal epithelial cells in intestinal coccidian or
 Red blood cells in the case of Plasmodium. …

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 Prop…

6. Gametocyte:
 result of merozoite cell fission

 Fusion of these results in formation of oocyst

 Other life cycle stages

 Amastigote, Promastigote, Epimastigote ,
Trypomastigote & Metacyclic Trypomastigote

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Example of Protozoa life cycle

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 The life cycle of Plasmodium
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species
 Protozoan Taxonomy
• Confused, controversial and constantly changing

• No universal agreement = many systems & frequent changes

 Several bases of classification,

• light microscope = Originally based on motility
• electron microscope =Ultrastructural criteria used since 1960’s
4-6 phyla? In the kingdom protista
• Molecular technique: DNA sequences

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 General Characteristics of five main groups

Of protozoa

1. Amoebas (Subphylum Sarcodina)

= Move by extending blunt, lobe like projections -
pseudopodia (false feet)

= Amoebas engulf food with pseudopods & phagocytize it

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 Char…

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 Char…

•Several genera:
•Entamoeba,
•Iodamoeba,
•Endolimax,
•Naegleria (CNS),
•Acanthamoeba (CNS)

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 Char…
2. The Flagellates
(Mastigophora)
= Move by means of rotation of a whip-like organell called a
Flagellum (plural: flagella)

= The flagella can also be used for gathering and sorting food

= Some species have organelles for the purpose of food ingestion

(gullet or cytostome), and for excretion (cytopyge)

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 Char…

= several genera
 Giardia
 Chilomastix
 Dientamoeba
 Trypanosoma
 Leishmania
 Trichomonas

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 Char…
Giardia intestinalis

Cyst Trophozoite

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 Char…
Trichomonas

T. vaginalis T. intestinalis

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 Char…
Trypanosoma

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 Char…
Leishmania

Amastigote
Promastigote

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 Char…

C. Apicomplexans (Phylum
Apicomplexa)
 Have specialized organelles
at tip (apex) of cells that
penetrate host tissues

 Locomotion of mature form

by body flexion or gliding

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 Char…

 Obligate intracellular parasites

 usually 2 or more hosts

 Their life cycles have asexual and sexual phases

 several forms (sporozoites ,trophozoites , merozoites ,

gametocytes , oocyst & cyst

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 Char…
Toxoplasma gondii (Toxoplasmosis)

Bradyzoite

Sporulated
oocyst
Oocyst

Merozoite
Gamete
Sporocyst

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 Char…
 Includes
 1. Intestinal coccidian
 Cryptosporidium

 Isospora

 Cyclospora

 2. Blood and tissue coccidian

 Plasmodium

 Toxoplasma

 Babesia

 Sarcocystis

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 Char…
D. Ciliates (Phylum Ciliophora)

 Move and obtain food using

cilia

 Distinct cytostome (mouth)

Structure

 Dimorphic nuclei, typically

larger macronuclei and smaller
micronuclei

 Only known human pathogen is

Balantidium coli

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 Char…
E. Microsporans (Phylum Microsporidia)

 Obligate intracellular spore forming parasites

 Discovered in 1984 to cause chronic diarrhea and conjunctivitis,

mainly in AIDS patients

 at least 14 microsporidian species identified as human

pathogens: Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon
intestinalis, Encephalitozoon hellem ….
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 1.7. Protozoans associated with HIV/AIDS

 Cryptosporidium parvum, [Link] and Cyclospora

cayatenensis : causing enteritis

 Microsporidia species : causing a diarrhea with wasting, eye

disease, and disseminated disease

 Pneumocystis carnii: causing life threatening pneumonia

 Blastocystis hominis : cause severe enteritis

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 Pro …

 T. gondii: causing cerebral toxoplasmosis

 Leishmania species – emerging as a major pathogens in

HIV infected persons

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 Summary
Protozoa
 unicellular eukaryote organisms
 kingdom Protista
 extremely diverse and found in a variety of niches
 Have complex internal structure
 several modes of reproduction
 Cause of more sickness and death, than any other disease-
causing organisms
 No universal agreement on classification there are many
systems & frequent changes
Review questions

1. Explain the characteristics of Protozoans ?

2. List and discuss about the structure of protozoa ?

3. Explain the properties of protozoa?

4. Discuss about the classification of parasitic

protozoa?

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 References

[Link] M., Cheneke W. Medical Parasitology for Medical

laboratory Technology students. Upgraded lecture Notes Series
.2006.
2. Cheesbrough M. District laboratory practice in tropical countries
United Kingdom, Cambridge university press, 2000, part I
3. Jaffeey and Leach. Atlas of Medical Helminthology and
Protozoology 2nd edition

4. Murray P.R., Rosenthal K.S., Kobayashi G.S., Pfaller M.A.,

Medical Microbiology, 4th edition. Mosby, 2002
[Link]

6. Guerrant R.L.,Walker D.H.,Weller P.F. Tropical infectious

Diseases Elsevir Inc. 2nd, 2006

7. Gillespie S,Pearson R.D. Principles and practice of Clinical

Parasitology .John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2001