ANIMAL-LIKE PROTISTS

PROTOZOA
(Proto- first, Zoa- animals).
• Protozoa are a subkingdom of the kingdom Protista,
• In the classical system they were placed in the kingdom Animalia.
• Are unicellular, eukaryotic organisms.
• Protozoa display a unicellular or colonial organization.
• All functions - carried out within the confines of a single plasma
membrane.
• There are around 65,000 species of protozoans categorised in different
groups.
• General Characteristics of Protozoa

• Habitat- Protozoa are found in almost every possible habitat

• In the aquatic environment i.e. freshwater or oceans.
• Some are free-living and some are parasitic in plants and animals.
• Virtually all humans have protozoa living in or on their body at
some time
• Mostly are aerobic but some are anaerobic and present in the
rumen or human intestine.
• Some species are found in extreme environments like hot springs.
• Some form resting cyst to overcome dry environments.
• Size and Shape
• The size of Protozoa vary greatly, from microbial (1µm) to large enough and
can be seen by the naked eye.

• The shell of unicellular foraminifera can have a diameter of 20 cm.

• Lack a rigid cell wall, - are flexible and found in various shapes.

• Cells are enclosed in a thin plasma membrane.

• Some of the species have a hard shell on the outer surface.
• In some of the protozoans especially in ciliates, the cell is supported
by Pellicle
Protozoa Classification and
Examples
• 1. Mastigophora or Flagellated protozoans
• Examples: Trypanosoma, Trichomonas, Giardia, Leishmania, etc

Trypanosoma
2. Sarcodina or Amoeboids
• Examples: Amoeba, Entamoeba, etc.
3. Sporozoa or Sporozoans
• Examples: Plasmodium, Myxidium, Nosema, Globidium, etc.
4. Ciliophora or Ciliated protozoans

Paramecium
• Some members of phyla (Protozoa) - important influences on human
health and welfare. E.g. Apicomplexa (Plasmodium - Malaria)

• Protozoa also serve as food for other animals, and

• help in purification of litter and sewerage beds.
• Basic characteristics:
i. Division of labor is restricted to organelles
which are intercellular or subcellular structures.
• Some protozoan organelles, however, reflect
specialization for unicellular lifestyles;
• The pellicle, underlies the plasma membrane of
many protozoa.
• The pellicle helps to maintain the shape of
some protozoa but it is also flexible.
• The cytoplasm is differentiated into two
regions.
• ectoplasm - just beneath the pellicle, is
relatively clear and firm.
• Endoplasm - the inner cytoplasm, is usually
granular and more fluid.
• The conversion of cytoplasm between these
two states is important in protozoan
locomotion.
ii. Both sexual and asexual reproduction occurs among protozoa.
Simplest form of asexual form of reproduction is binary fission and multiple fission or
schizogony

iii. All life activities of homeostasis, feeding, excretion, gaseous exchange, characteristic of
living organisms are performed within a single cell

iv. Response to stimuli gives an indication of the beginning of the nervous system found in
higher animals.

v. Many Protozoans have parasitic lifestyle (One organism live on/in a second organism
called a host.

Some have lifecycle that involve multiple hosts.

The definitive host harbors the sexual stages of the parasite.

The sexual stage may produce offspring that enter another host called an intermediate
 Nutrition, Respiration and Excretion
Nutrition
• Nutrition is a process by which the individuals obtain nourishment. It includes
ingestion, digestion, absorption and egestion

• Nutrition of protozoa is manifested by following ways

(A) Holozoic or Zootrophic or Heterotrophic:

• Animals and plants smaller than the body of the pro­tozoa are used as food sources.
• The method is ultimately associated with in­gestion, digestion, assimilation and
egestion.
• I. Ingestion:
• Most Sarcodina or Amoeboids capture their food
and take them inside the body through any part
of the body.

In Sarcodina or Amoeboids the following

methods have been observed for the ingestion of
food par­ticles.
(a) Import (Fig. C):
• The food is taken inside the body upon contact
with little or no move­ment of body parts.
(b) Circumfluence (Fig. D):
• The food is sur­rounded on all sides by the
cytoplasm and is engulfed.
(c) Circumvallation:
• The amoeba forms pseudopodia round the food
particle and ingests it (Fig. E).
(d) Invagination (Fig. F):
• The ectoplasm of the amoeba, when comes in
contact with the food particle, is invaginated or
II. Digestion:
• The ingested food particles surrounded by a
film of fluid remain in the endoplasm in ‘food
vacuoles’. Digestion is done within the food
vacuoles.

III. Egestion:
• Non-digested residue is thrown out of the
body through the plasma membrane or
through cytoproct or tempo­rary cell-anus.
• Nutrition in Amoeba:
• It is carnivorous and its mode of nutrition is holozoic i.e.
• It feeds by phagocytosis, a mechanism in which food is engulfed in a
solid form.

• The food consists of

mainly flagellates,
ciliates and rotifers.
(B) Holotrophic or Auto­trophic or Phytotrophic:
• Equivalent to the photosynthe­sis of plants.
• Pre­dominant in Phytomastigina and few chlorophyll-bearing ciliates.

(C) Saprozoic or Saprophytic:

• Simpler substances enter into the body by diffusion through body surface and no organelle is
involved.
• Substances are simpler com­pounds formed by the activities of bacteria on dead or
decomposed bodies of animals or plants.
• Flagellates, nourish themselves by this process.

(D) Parasitic:
• Many protozoa live in­side the body of other living organism and nourish themselves from the
food of the host.
• In some cases the food substances of the hosts enter into the body of the parasites by diffusion
as in Monocystis.
(E) Myxotrophic:
• Flagellates like Eu­glena can nourish themselves in more than one method.
• In the absence of light, change their mode of nutrition from holophytic to saprophytic
type.

Respiration in Protozoa:
• Protozoa do not have any organellae for the process of respiration.
• The limiting permeable membrane acts as a respiratory surface.
• The free molecular oxy­gen from the surrounding media enters into the body by
diffusion.
• Anaerobic protozoa include Trypanosoma gambiense of vertebrate blood.
• Histomonas meleagridis, a flagellate in the intestine of chicken can grow in presence of
air as well as without it and is a ‘facultative aerobe’.
Excretion in Protozoa:
• Waste products are water, carbon dioxide and nitrogenous compounds and
remain in soluble forms.
• Waste materials are passed out of the body by diffusion or by the contractile
vacuoles.
• E.g. Amoeba excretes ammonia, carbondioxide and excess water.

• Single-celled protozoa have a rudimentary (imperfectly developed) circulatory

system.
 Locomotion in Protozoa
1. Pseudopodial Movement:
• Some protozoon’s move with the
help of pseudopodia.
• Pseudopodia are blunt, finger­like
temporary protrusions of the
cytoplasm.
• Movement in amoeba
• They move by pushing out
cytoplasmic extensions
(pseudopodia).
• The pseudopodia exist in a variety of forms in
amoeba:
i. Lobopodia – broad cell processes containing
ectoplasm and endoplasm and are used for
locomotion and engulfing food.
ii.Filopodia – Contain ectoplasm only and provide
constant two-way streaming that delivers food
in a conveyor belt fashion
iii.Reticulopodia – Forms a net-like series of
extensions
iv.Axiopodia – these are thin, filamentous and
supported by a central axis of adhesive
microtubules and deliver food to the central
cytoplasm.
• 2. Flagellate Movement
• Most flagellate protozoans possess either one or two flagella
extending from the anterior (front) end of the body.
• Some protozoans, however, have several flagella that may be
scattered over the entire body; in such cases, the flagella usually are
fused into distinctly separate clusters.
• Euglena moves by the rapid lashing move­ment of the single flagellum
which is placed at the anterior end of the body.
• 3. Ciliary Movement:
• Some protozoon’s move with the help of cilia.
• Cilia are small hair-like structures, present usually in large numbers on the body
surface.
• In some cases (Vorticella), the cilia are restricted only in a concentric circlet at
the distal end of the body.
• Cilia are usually ar­ranged in definite rows.
• Reproduction in Protozoa:
• Protozoans reproduce in a variety of ways and the process of reproduction is
variable amongst different groups.
• Protozoan reproduction is nothing more than the division of the cell.
• It reproduces both asexually and sexually.

• I. Asexual Reproduction:
• When the continuity of species is main­tained without the participation of the
gam­etes
• Asexual reproduction takes place by the division of the body of individual into
two or more parts, these parts give rise to the new individuals.
• The asexual reproduction is of the follow­ing types:
A. Binary fission,
B. Multiple fission or Sporulation,
1. Schizogony or Agamogony
2. Gamogony
3. Sporogony
C. Plasmotomy
D. Budding and
E. Repeated fission.
A. Binary fission:
Body of the individual divides into two equal halves and the furrow ex­tends
along the long and the extended axis of the body.

Binary fusion of amoeba gives a clear cut understanding of miotic division of a cell.
• Depending upon the plane of division, the binary
fissions are of the following cat­egories:
• (i) Longitudinal binary fission:
• The plane of constriction is along the long axis of the
animal, e.g., Euglena, Vorticella, Trypanosoma etc.

• (ii) Transverse binary fission:

• The plane of division of the body constricts
transversely, e.g., Paramoecium.

• (iii) Oblique binary fission:

• The plane of division is somewhat oblique, e.g.,
Ceratium.
• The different organelles present in the body may
divide or they may be retained by one of the
daughter cells;
• while in the other cell regenerates the lost
organelles.
• In extreme cases organelles disappear altogether
and are regenerated by both the offspring.
• (iv) Encysted condition:
• In Colpoda, Tellina and in testaceans, binary fission takes place
in encysted condition.
• One of the daughter individuals remains within the old test
while the other moves away to form a new one.

• B. Multiple fission or Sporulation:

• Body divides and a number of daughter individuals are
formed.
• The nucleus divides a number of times and a multinucleate
state results.
• The nuclei come to the periphery and gather some amount of
cytoplasm round them.
• The cell-membrane breaks and daughter individuals
correspond­ing to the number of nuclei are produced.
• Sometimes as many as 1000 individuals are formed.
• Mul­tiple fission occurs in Foraminifera, Radiolarians and
• Multiple fission is also known by the
following names:
1. Schizogony or Agamogony:
• When the products of the fission directly
develop into individuals as in Plasmodium in
the red blood cells or hepatic cells of man.
2. Gamogony:
• When the products are sex cells as the
microgametocytes of Plasmodium.
3. Sporogony:
• When it occurs following sexual fusion as in
Monocystis and Plasmo­dium.
C. Plasmotomy:
• It is the division of the cell-body
without nuclear division and oc­curs in
many multinucleate ciliates like
Opalina.
D. Budding:
• It is a process in which one or more
individuals are produced on the body
of the parent and are budded off.
• The indi­viduals generally do not
resemble the mother and undergo
further development before or after
being free.
• Budding occurs only in Suctoria.
• The site of bud formation may be
• II. Sexual Reproduction:
• Union of two entire individuals or it involves merely the nuclear exchange and
their subsequent fusion.
• In Protozoa the sexual reproduction occurs by the following processes:
A. Syngamy or Copulation:
• In which union of two sexual cells, called gametes, occur.

• Significance of syngamy:
• (i) Brings about a nuclear re­organization, and physiologically it has distinct effects.
• (ii) It brings two previously separated lines of heredity in close association.
• (iii) It increases diversity among the off­spring.
B. Conjugation:
• Temporary union of two indi­viduals belonging to same species for the purpose of
exchange of nuclear material.
• Conjugation occurs in Euciliates and Suctorians.

• Significance of conjugation:
(i) Conjugation helps in rejuvenescence to gain vigour and vitality.
(ii) It brings about the genetic recombi­nation, and the origin of genetic vari­ations
takes place.
(iii) Reorganisation of nuclear apparatus takes place between the individuals.
 Examples of Diseases caused by Protozoa

List of diseases caused by protozoans

Name of the Causal organism Vector Pathogenesis Disease symptoms
Disease
Malaria Plasmodium Female Anopheles -The parasite attacks the liver and RBCs. Fever, headache, vomiting,
falciparum, P. vivax, P. mosquito -It multiplies within liver cells, enters the abdominal pain and it may lead
malariae, P. ovale bloodstream and ruptures RBCs. to fatal conditions if not treated
-It releases a toxic substance like organ failure and
called ‘hemozoin’, which causes fever. The convulsions
sporozoite is the infectious stage

Amoebiasis or Entamoeba histolytica None. -Invades intestinal mucosa and spreads to Abdominal pain, loose bowel
Amoebic dysentery It gets transmitted other parts like liver. movement, bloody stool, loss of
by contaminated -Causes dysentery and liver abscesses. appetite, nausea, fever
food or water -The infected stage is trophozoites

African Sleeping Trypanosoma brucei Tsetse fly B-lymphocyte proliferation leading to tissue High fever, muscle and joint
sickness or gambiense, T. brucei damage pain, irritability, swollen lymph
Trypanosomiasis rhodesiense nodes, skin rashes. If left
untreated, neurological
problems develop, which
become fatal
Name of the Causal organism Vector Pathogenesis Disease symptoms
Disease
Trichomoniasi Trichomoniasis Sexually transmitted -Destroys epithelial cells and cytotoxic substances Itching and burning in genital
s vaginalis disease (STD) are released. organs and discharge.
-Vaginal pH increases and the number of Mostly asymptomatic in males, but
leukocytes also increases in response to the toxic in females it may lead to many
substance released by the pathogen complications such as complication
during pregnancy and after birth
Toxoplasmosis Toxoplasma gondii Transmission by -Sporozoites penetrate the intestinal cells and Redness of eye, blurred vision, flu-
contaminated water multiply in the intestine. like symptoms
and soil or get attached -It invades the lymphatic system and blood and
to fur of animals damages the tissue leading to necrosis
Balantidiasis Balantidium coli Pigs -Excystation occurs in the small intestine. Ulcer due to lesion in the colon,
-Sporozoites migrate to the colon colitis, blood and mucus in the
stool,
Giardiasis Giardia lamblia or None. It gets -Mucosal damage is related to the mucosal The parasite is present in the
duodenalis transmitted by inflammation and release of lectin or proteinases. duodenum.
contaminated food or -Malabsorption may also be due to inhibition of Watery or foul-smelling diarrhoea,
water pancreatic enzymes and depletion of bile nausea, flatulence, weight loss
concentration
Leishmaniasis Leishmania Female Sandflies (of the -The flagellated promastigotes of the parasite Enlarged liver and spleen, fever,
or Kala-azar donovani genus Phlebotomus) bind to macrophages present in the skin. skin turns dark
-There is marked suppression of cell-mediated
immunity
• Plasmodium
• Four species are known to cause malaria
i.e.
P. vivax,
P. ovale,
P. malariae
P. falciparum.
• Once the parasites are in the body - cause fever
• period between the fevers is characteristic of the parasite e.g.
i. P. vivax - tertian fever (Fever that recurs every third day) and period between fevers is 48
hours.
ii.P. ovale - mild tertian and the period between fevers is 48hrs.
iii.P. malariae – quartan (interval of four days) malaria, period btn fevers is 72 hours.
iv.P. falciparum - most virulent form of malaria (malignant or pernicious malaria)
• period btn fevers is 48hrs (can be more irregular than in other species).
 Life cycle of Plasmodium

• All Plasmodia reside in red blood cells,

• reproduce in red blood cells & kill them.
• Vertebrate animals (man, birds) - intermediate hosts of Plasmodia
• female anopheles mosquitoes – primary host,
• Hence Plasmodium is digenetic.
• Asexual cycle is passed in man by schizogony
• asexual cycle is completed in the female anopheles mosquito involving
gametogony and sporogony.
• Infection begins - female anopheles mosquito’s bite (with infective stages, sporozoites -
salivary glands).
• Sporozoites - uninucleate spindle shaped organisms (11-12µ length; 0.5-1µ width).
• Mosquito punctures the host’s skin by its proboscis
• introduces some saliva into the blood stream.
• The saliva contains an anticoagulant.
• Once in human blood, sporozoites circulate for ½ -1 hour and then invade the hepatic
cells of the liver.
• In the liver, they multiply asexually by schizogony
• Schizogony - an asexual reproduction which involves multiple fission during which the
nuclear divisions are completed before cytoplasmic divisions begins.
• Each sporozoites grows for a number of days and becomes a spherical non-pigmented
schizont.
• Schizonts again divides by schizogony and forms a large number of uninucleate
cells (cryptozoites).
• Cryptozoites - vary from one to several thousands & are liberated when liver
cells burst.
• Cryptozoites re-invade fresh liver cells
• undergo schizogony similar to the previous one - produce enormous number of
metacryptozoites.
• May happen many times (each time new liver cells invaded) - until macro and
micro metacryptozoites are produced.
• The micro metacryptozoites escape into blood and invade Red blood cells.
• Each micro metacryptozoite becomes modified into a young trophozoite,
• They push the nucleus of the red blood cells aside
• clinically is referred to as signet ring stage.
• Trophozoite - secrete digestive enzymes into red blood cells.
• As they grow, they break down haemoglobin into:
protein component globin, which they feed on &
hematin which forms the toxin haemozoin.
• Trophozoites develop into active amoeboid trophozoites,
• After feeding, amoeboid trophozoites grow & form bigger schizonts - become
merozoites.
• Merozoites are released into the blood plasma- after rupture of RBC.
• They re-invade new RBC to repeat the erythrocytic cycle, which takes 48hrs in P. vivax.
• Bursting of the RBCs cause a fever
• Time btn successive fevers coincides with the duration of an erythrocytic cycle of the
causative Plasmodium.
• Haemozoin (toxin) - induces high fever & shivering.
• Period between first infection and first malarial symptom is called incubation period (10-17
days).
• Sometimes the merozoites reach the liver cells and undergo schizogony
there (post erythrocytic schizogony).
• At some stage, schizogony stops and merozoites enter RBCs - form bigger
gametocytes of two types:
i. Male microgametocyte
ii.Female macrogametocyte
• These gametocytes remain in the RBCs until they either die or are ingested
by a female anopheles mosquito.
• When ingested, all the other phases of the parasite are digested.
• Once in the mosquito,
• the drop in temperature from a warm to a cold blooded mosquito
• cause the microgametocyte to undergo exflagellation in the midgut, i.e. formation of
haploid cytoplasm flagella-like projections, each forming a microgamete (sperm).
• Even the megagametocyte undergoes some reorganization and becomes a
megagamete (ovum)
• fertilization takes place forming a zygote which grows to form an ookinete.
• The ookinete performs gliding movements and moves away from the haemocoel of
the gut and
• settles just beneath the membrane that separates the midgut from the haemocoel.
• It forms a cyst around itself in the mosquito’s mid gut and is called an oocyst.
• Each oocyst undergoes multiplication of sporogony.
• an asexual multiplication in anopheles female mosquito i.e. post zygotic
multiplication resulting into infective sporozoites.
• The nucleus divides first by meiosis then by mitosis.
• Each oocyst later forms sporozoites.
• When oocysts burst, the sporozoites are released
• which move to the salivary glands
• the mosquito becomes infective.
• This takes 10-20 days in the insect.
Infectious cycle of Plasmodium
• Trypanosoma brucei
• is parasitic on Vertebrate blood
• does not form cysts.
• Are carried from one place to another by
blood sucking insects.

• Trypanosoma brucei species is subdivided into

sub species
• T. b. brucei (parasite of non human
mammals),
• T. b. gambiense,
• T. b. rhodensiense (these later two cause
sleeping sickness in humans).
• Life cycle of Trypanosoma
• T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodensience - sleeping sickness (insect vector, Tsetse fly, Glossina sp).
• Tsetse fly bite inoculates infective metacyclic trypanosomes with the fly’s saliva.
• In the human blood, the metacylic forms multiply by binary fusion and obtain energy by
anaerobic glycolysis for about 10 days.
• When the glucose is over, they change into short stumpy forms (don’t feed & die if not sucked
up by tsetse fly.
• Life cycle…
• If sucked up, in the tsetse fly,
• divide by binary fission, transformed (15 to 35 days) - slender metacyclic forms -
make their way to the salivary glands (thru esophagus) - ready to infect a new
host.
• Parasites may live in the blood, lymph, spleen & central nervous system (CNS).
• When CNS is invaded - mental dullness, & lack of coordination - Sleeping sickness
• i.e. individual may fall asleep during normal daytime activity.
• Cause swelling- Lymphatic glands invaded.