Biology,

Protozoa and its important features

Protozoa is eukaryotic (Single-celled) type. Protozoa is acellular type organisms. Protozoa is a part of the living creatures. Protozoa can be large as 1 mm. Protozoa is easily seen by microscope.

Historically, protozoa were defined as single-celled organisms with animal-like behaviors, such as motility and predation.

The terms protozoa and protozoans are also used informally to designate single-celled, non-photosynthetic protists, such as ciliates, amoebae and flagellates.

The term Protozoa was introduced in 1818 for a taxonomic class.

The word “protozoa” (singular protozoon, or protozoan) was coined in 1818, by zoologist Georg August Goldfuss, as the Greek equivalent of the German “Urthiere,” meaning “primitive, or original animals”.

Protozoa, as traditionally defined, are mainly microscopic organisms, ranging in size from 10 to 52 micrometers.

Many protozoan species are symbionts, some are parasites, and some are predators of bacteria, algae and other protists.

Protozoa reproduce asexually by binary fission or multiple fission. Many protozoan species exchange genetic material by sexual means (typically, through conjugation)

Protozoa have been divided traditionally on the basis of their means of locomotion.

Amoeboids (e.g., Entamoeba histolytica)

                                                                         Entamoeba histolytica cyst

Microsporidia (now in Fungi)

Flagellates (e.g., Giardia lamblia)

Apicomplexa (now in Alveolata)

Sporozoans (e.g., Plasmodium knowlesi)

Ciliates (e.g., Balantidium coli)

Myxosporidia (now in Cnidaria)

Ascetosporea (now in Rhizaria)

 Diseases  by  Protozoan –

Diseases                                                                                       Microbes

Malignant tarsian malaria                                                     Plasmodium falciparnum

Quartan malaria                                                                      Plasmodium malariae

Benign tertian malaria                                                              Plasmodium vivax

Kala-azar                                                                                     Leishmania dovovany

Ovale malaria                                                                             Plasmodium ovale

Inflammation of vagina                                                            Trychomonas vaginalis

Sleeping sickness                                                                     Trypanosoma gambiense

Giardiasis                                                                            Giardia intestinalis

Amoebic dysentery                                                                    Entamoeba histolytica

Pyorrhoea                                                                            Trychomonas tusox