protozoa

• protozoa came from greek protozoon which means first animal
• protozia is a unicellular eukaryotic mictroorganism
• protozoa live freely, may be parasitic or symbiotic
• protozoa are motile (flagella and cilia)
• protozoa resemble to animal cell that also contains major cell organelles (nucleus and mitochondria)

  • specialized for feeding, reproduction and movement
• the cytoplasm of protozoa are divided into ectoplasm (outer layer) and endoplasm (inner layer)
• some protozoa have special appendages (flagella and cilia) that helps in their movement
• the size of protozoa ranges between 3 to 300 micrometer
• protozoa feed on dead plants and animal debris while trophozoites feed n bacteria and algae
• flagellates - move by the help of flagella (whip-like)

  • trypnosoma, leishmenia (blood pathogen)
  • giardia (intestinal parasite)
  • trichomonas (reproductive tract pathogen)
• ciliates - movement through cilia (fine hair like structure attached to body)

  • for feeding and attachment
  • harmless (except for balantidium coli)
• amoebad

  • move using pseudopodia
  • reproduction: binary fission
• apicomplexan

  • non motile, intracellular
  • reproduction: syngamy
• subphylum sarcodina, "sarcodines"

  • harmless
  • largest phylum
  • movemeny: pseudopods
• entamoeba histolytica - intestinal protozoan

  • nonmotile stage (cyst) - infective stage and found in formed stool
  • motile trophozoite - pathogenic stage and found in intestion
  • disease: amebiasis
  • ingestion of cyst in contaminated food and water (fecal oral)
  • sexual transmission may also occure
  • water is the major source of infection