Paramecium
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| Paramecium | |
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| Paramecium aurelia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Protista |
| Phylum: | Ciliophora |
| Class: | Ciliatea |
| Order: | Peniculida |
| Family: | Parameciidae |
| Genus: | Paramecium Müller, 1773 |
| Species | |
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Paramecium aurelia |
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Paramecium is a group of unicellular ciliate protozoa, which are commonly studied as a representative of the ciliate group, and range from about 50 to 350 μm in length. Simple cilia cover the body, which allow the cell to move with a synchronous motion (like a caterpillar). There is also a deep oral groove containing inconspicuous compound oral cilia (as found in other peniculids) used to draw food inside. They generally feed on bacteria and other small cells. Osmoregulation is carried out by a pair of contractile vacuoles, which actively expel water from the cell absorbed by osmosis from their surroundings.
Paramecia are widespread in freshwater environments, and are especially common in scums. Certain single-celled eukaryotes, such as Paramecium, are examples for exceptions to the universality of the genetic code (translation systems where a few codons differ from the standard ones).
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[edit] Physiology
The paramecium approximates a prolate spheroid[1], rounded at the front and pointed at the back. The pellicle is a stiff but elastic membrane that gives the paramecium its definite shape. Covering the outer edge are whiplike structures, called Flagella. On the side, beginning near the front end continuing down half way, is the oral groove, which collects food until it is swept into the cell mouth. There is an opening near the back end called the anal pore. The contractile vacuole and its radiating canals — referred to previously for osmoregulation of the organism, are also found on the outside of a paramecium. The paramecium is very commonly mistaken as a blepharisma.
The paramecium contains cytoplasm, trichocysts, the gullet, food vacuoles, the macronucleus.
[edit] Locomotion
Flagella is the locomotive part in the paramecium. In order for the paramecium to move forward, its flagella beat at an angle, backwards in unison. This means that the paramecium moves by spiraling through the water on an invisible axis. The paramecium can also move backwards when the flagella beat forward at an angle in unison.
When the paramecium runs into a solid object, the flagella change their direction and beat forward, causing the paramecium to go backward. The paramecium turns slightly and goes forward again. If it runs into the solid object again it will repeat this process until it can get past the object.
[edit] Gathering food
Paramecia feed on microorganisms like bacteria, algae, and yeasts. To gather its food, the paramecium uses its flagella to sweep up food along with some water into the cell mouth after it falls into the oral groove. The food goes through the cell mouth into the gullet. When enough food has accumulated at the gullet base, it forms a food vacuole in the cytoplasm, and travels through the cell, through the back end first. As it moves along, enzymes from the cytoplasm enter the vacuole to digest the contents, digested nutrients then going into the cytoplasm, and the vacuole shrinks. When the vacuole reaches the anal pore, it ruptures, expelling its waste contents to the exterior.
[edit] Symbiosis
One of the most interesting known symbiotic relationships is that of Paramecium aurelia and its bacterial endosymbionts. The bacteria infect the protozoa, and they produce toxic particles that kill sensitive strains, but not killer strains. See also the Chlorella symbiosis with Paramecium bursaria.
Giant amoebas, for instance, have types of endosymbiotes, which seem to function as mitochondria in these amoebas. Another example involves protozoa bacteria that produce cellulases to assist the host protozoan with cellulose digestion (similar to those found in some in termites).
[edit] Genome
The paramecium genome has been sequenced (species: Paramecium tetraurelia), providing evidence for three whole-genome duplication.[2]
In some ciliates, like Stylonychia and Paramecium, only UGA is decoded as a stop codon, while UAG and UAA are reassigned as sense codons.[3]
[edit] Learning
The question of whether paramecia exhibit learning has been the object of a great deal of experiment, yielding equivocal results. In one of the most recent experiments published[4], the authors, by using a voltage as a reinforcement, concluded that paramecium may indeed learn to discriminate between different brightness levels.
[edit] Communication by electromagnetic radiation
Paramecium may be able to communicate via radiation. This may be true of other single-celled organisms as well. In an experiment conducted in 2008, Daniel Fels at the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel, demonstrated that Paramecium caudatum grown in complete darkness in glass tubes, which prevented the passing of chemical signals, were able to influence feeding behavior and growth rates of neighbours in other tubes, suggesting that electromagnetic signals were involved. It appears that the microbes use at least two frequencies on which to communicate,[5] one of which was in the ultraviolet (UV) range.[6] The structures within the organisms that make this possible have not been identified. Fels suggests that signals of this sort could lead to novel noninvasive medical techniques.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ O. F. Muller
- ^ Aury, J. M., O. Jaillon, et al. (2006). "Global trends of whole-genome duplications revealed by the ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia." Nature 444(7116): 171-8. [1]
- ^ Lekomtsev, S, Kolosov, P., et al. (2007) "Different modes of stop condom restriction by the Stylonychia and Paramecium eRF1 translation termination factors", PNAS, 104(26):10824-9 [2]
- ^ Armus, H.L., Montgomery, A.R., Jellison, J.L. (2006) "Discrimination Learning in Paramecia (P. caudatum)" , The Psychological Record, 56,489-498[3]
- ^ a b Choi, Charles (June 2009). "News Scan Briefs: Electromagnetic Chatter". Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=in-brief-jun09. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
- ^ Fels, Daniel (April 1 2009). "Cellular Communication through Light". PLoS ONE. http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%252F10.1371%252Fjournal.pone.0005086.
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