Types of Amoeboid Movements

As the amoeba's cell body throws out one or a few pseudopodial lobes, a temporary rear end or uroid is pulled along. The central, more fluid protoplasm, the endoplasm flows -towards the extending pseudopodium, the advancing tip of which appears a thicker gel, the ectoplasm. During the amoeboid movement, the sol-like endoplasm is converted into gel like ectoplasm at the advancing tip of the pseudopodium; a reverse process simultaneously occurs at the.uroid end where the gel changes into sol. At some point the pseudopodium gets attached to the substratum and the cell is moved forward.

Figure: Amoeboid locomotion in different amoebae.

It is also a widely accepted view that the amoeboid movements depend on the contraction of cellular proteins which are comparable to those occurring in the muscle. Actin and myosin have been found to be present in amoeboid cells; tropomysin has also been demonstrated in some instances. Figure shows the various types of amoeboid movements.