Zooflagellates – protozoan, Biology

Assignment Help:

Zooflagellates – Protozoan

Zooflagellates are heterotrophs that are free living, commensals or symbiotic or parasitic in other animals. A number of species eg. Trichonynzpha and Myxotricha live within the gut of termites and digest cellulose that the wood-eating termites feed o but cannot digest for themselves.

Trichortympha lives as a mutualistic symbiont in the hindgut of wood-eating insects (termites and woodroaches). The anterior end of these large, complex flagellates (sometimes over 300 pm long) is covered with an elaborate pellicle and hundreds of flagella, but the posterior end extends pseudopods and ingests bits of wood. The flagellate is able to produce cellulose-digesting enzymes, but the insect host cannot; and therefore, depends on carbohydrates released by its symbionts.

Each time the insect molts, it loses the lining of the hindgut and all its symbionts. If it is unable to acquire new ones, it will starve to death, even though it continues to feed normally, for it cannot digest the wood. The flagellates are equally dependent on the mutualism and die within minutes outside the host. A young or newly-molted termite acquires symbionts by feeding directly from the anal opening of other termites in the colony. Myxotricha appears to be covered with flagella. But only four of these are true flagella and the others are a kind of bacteria or spirochetes (see margin remarks) attached to its surface. Their lashing movements enable the flagellate to swim about, and its own flagella help in steering.

2308_Zoo flagellates.png

                                                                 Figure: Zooflagellates parasitic in the gut of termites.

Other well known parasitic species of flagellates are Trypanosoma and Leishmania found in humans and cattle in Africa and Asia. Trypanosoma causes sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle. The blood of the host is infected with the flagellate when the tsetse fly bites the host. Leishnamia is the agent for the widespread kala-azar and related disease. It affects the immune system and causes skin lesions among other effects. The host for this protozoan is the blood sucking sand fly.


Related Discussions:- Zooflagellates – protozoan

Connective tissue, how connective tissues are like an estuary

how connective tissues are like an estuary

Porcine rotavirus, Porcine rotavirus Piglet diarrhoea and mortality are ga...

Porcine rotavirus Piglet diarrhoea and mortality are gaining importance and the viral agent which is highly incriminated in such episodes is porcine rotavirus. The clinical featur

Steps involved in using bacteria to produce human insulin, Outline the step...

Outline the steps involved in using bacteria to produce human insulin. The gene for insulin is 'cut' from the appropriate strand of DNA using restriction enzymes. Plasmids are

Evaluation of health services, CONCEPT AND MEANING OF EVALUATION: Eval...

CONCEPT AND MEANING OF EVALUATION: Evaluation of programmes is critical for measuring various community health services The ultimate reasons for doing evaluation is to ensure

Explain the management strategies congenital heart disease, Explain the Man...

Explain the Management Strategies for Adults with Congenital Heart Disease ? The goals for management of congenital heal disease in adults are improving upon the natural histo

What is meant by vaso-dilation, a) What is meant by 'vaso-dilation'? ...

a) What is meant by 'vaso-dilation'? b) What are the effects of vaso-dilation in the skin?   (a) Vaso-dilation is an enhance in diameter of small arterioles and

Phylum, Are protozoan''s diploblastic or triploblastic

Are protozoan''s diploblastic or triploblastic

Types of mechanism - stress condition, Types of Mechanism - Stress Conditio...

Types of Mechanism - Stress Condition Plants have evolved a variety of mechanisms to withstand stress conditions. In many cases we can precisely define the way plants enable t

Science in the ancient world, Science in the ancient  world: We have e...

Science in the ancient  world: We have explained why we should study the history of science and what we mean by the history of science. We have seen what science is like in t

Results of pericardial diseases, Results :  Pericardiectomy used to have a...

Results :  Pericardiectomy used to have a mortality of 10-15 per cent in the earlier era. At present it is around 3 to 5 per cent and does not approach 0 per cent even though it

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd