LOCOMOTION OF PROTOZOA

 LOCOMOTION OF PROTOZOA

 Protozoa are motile, they contain Cilia, Flagella and Pseudopodia which helps them in locomotion.

a) Cilia

·     Some Protozoa used Cilia for locomotion as well as for the ingestion of foods and often function as a tactile organelle.

·       Cilia are fine, tiny hair like structures that cover the outside of the Protozoa.

·       The length of Cilia varies based on their location on cell or they can be uniform in length.

·       Cilia are arranged in longitudinal, oblique, or spiral rows, inserted either on the ridges or in the furrows.

b) Flagella

·       Flagella are long thread-like structures that extend from the cell surface.

·       Flagella move in a whip-like motion that produces waves that propel the microbe around.

·       The number of flagella in an individual cell varies from 1 to 8.

·       Flagellum is made up of two important part such as

i)        Axoneme - An elastic filament

ii)      Contractile - Cytoplasmic sheath that surrounds the axoneme.

c) Pseudopodia (Amoeboid movement)

·      Some Protozoa moves by sending out Pseudopodia, temporary protrusions that fill with cytoplasm that flows from the body of the cell.

·       Those protozoa lack rigid pellicle, they mainly used Pseudopodium.

·       Pseudopodia is a temporary projection of the cytoplasm and characteristics feature of the amoeba.

·       Sometimes, Protozoa used Pseudopodia to capture food substances.