THE MICROORGANISM

PROTOZOA
The word protozoa is come from Greek protozoon word meaning “First Animal”. Protozoa are
unicellular, eukaryotic, heterotrophic organisms. They are either free-living or parasites. There are around
65000 species of protozoans categorised in different groups. They lack a cell wall. There are many different
cell organelles, that perform various tasks performed by different organs in higher animals, e.g. mouth, anus,
intestinal tract, etc.
There are many protozoa, that cause various diseases in animals and humans, e.g. Plasmodium (malarial
parasite), Trypanosoma (sleeping sickness), Trichomonas (trichomoniasis), Entamoeba histolytica (amoebic
dysentry) etc.
The protozoa have many stages in their life cycle. Some of the stages of the life cycle are infectious.

The cyst stage is dormant and resistant to environmental stress, the trophozoite stage is reproductive and causes
disease.

Habitat- Protozoa are found in the aquatic environment. They live in freshwater or oceans. Some are free-living
and some are parasitic in plants and animals. Mostly they are aerobic but some are anaerobic and present in the
rumen or human intestine.
Some of the species are found in extreme environments like hot springs. Some of them form resting cyst to
overcome dry environments.
Size and Shape- The size and shape of Protozoa vary greatly, from microbial (1µm) to large enough and can be
seen by the naked eye. The shell of unicellular foraminifera can have a diameter of 20 cm.
They lack a rigid cell wall, so they are flexible and found in various shapes. Cells are enclosed in a thin plasma
membrane. Some of the species have a hard shell on the outer surface. In some of the protozoans especially in
ciliates, the cell is supported by Pellicle, which may be flexible or rigid and give organisms the definite shape
and help in locomotion.
Cellular Structure- They are unicellular having a eukaryotic cell. The metabolic functions are performed by
some specialized internal structures.

 They mostly have one membrane-bound nucleus in the cell

 The nucleus has diffused appearance due to scattered chromatin, the vesicular nucleus contains a central
body called endosome or nucleoli. Nucleoli of apicomplexans have DNA, whereas amoeboids lack
DNA in their endosome
 Ciliates have micronucleus and macronucleus
 The plasma membrane encloses the cytoplasm and other locomotory projections like flagella,
pseudopodia and cilia
 Some of the genera have a membranous envelope called pellicle, which gives a definite shape to the cell.
In some of the protozoans, epibiotic bacteria attach to the pellicle by their fimbriae
 The cytoplasm is differentiated into outer ectoplasm and inner endoplasm, ectoplasm is transparent and
endoplasm contains cell organelles
  Some of the protozoa have cytostome for ingesting food. Food vacuoles are present, where ingested
food comes. Ciliates have a gullet, a body cavity which opens outside
 The central vacuole is present for osmoregulation, that removes excess water
 Membrane-bound cell organelles, like mitochondria, Golgi bodies, lysosomes and other specialised
structures are present
Nutrition- Protozoa are heterotrophic and have holozoic nutrition. They ingest their food by phagocytosis.
Some of the protozoan groups have a specialised structure called cytostome for phagocytosis.
The pseudopodia of amoeboids help in catching the prey. Thousands of cilia present in ciliates drive the food-
laden water into the gullet.
The ingested food comes to the food vacuole and gets acted on by lysosomal enzymes. The digested food gets
distributed throughout the cell.
Locomotion- Most of the protozoa species have flagella, cilia or pseudopodia. Sporozoa, which don’t have any
locomotory structure, have subpellicular microtubules, which help in the slow movement.
Life Cycle- The life cycle of most of the protozoa alternates between dormant cyst stage and proliferating
vegetative stage, e.g. trophozoites
CLASSIFICATION OF PROTOZOA

Protozoa are classified on the basis of theirmotility and method of reproduction.

They are classified into Four main types

 Flagellates
 Ciliates
 Sarcodina
 Sporozoites

Flagellates
Flagellates move by help of Flagella (atail-like structure ).
The movement is whip like.

Example of Flagellates are

 Trypanosoma, (blood pathogen)
 Leishmenia (blood pathogen)
 Giardia (intestinal parasite)
 Trichomonas (reproductive tract pathogen)
Ciliates

Ciliates protozoa have movement through cilia. (fine hair like structure attached withtheir body). Some
protozoa have special kind of cilia for feeding and attachment. Most are harmless. Only one species
Balantidium Coli is pathogenic for humancauses a rare and server form of Dysentery.

Balantidium Coli Paramecium

Sarcodina

Major loco-motor organelles in Sarcodinais pseudopodia. (Pseudo means false, podia means Foot)
Common example of Sarcodina is Amoeba Most species are harmless
Entamoeba is a parasitic for human causes intestinal diseases.

Sporozoites

 Sporozoites are the only non-motile formof protozoa.

 Sporozoites have well developed sexualand asexual stages.
 Entire group is parasitic in nature and are harmful
Some common examples of Sporozoites and their infections are;

 Plasmodium (causative agent of Malaria, causes 100 to 300million infection worldwide)

 Toxoplasma Gondii (causes Toxoplasmosis)

REPRODUCTION IN PROTOZOA

Protozoa can reproduce their off spring by both Sexual and Asexual methods
Asexual methods of Reproduction are;

 Budding
 Binary Fission
 Schizogony or Multiple Fission
Sexual methods

 Conjugation
 Gametogony

Asexual methods of Reproduction

SCHIZOGONY/ MULTIPLE FISSION

It is the method of multiple fission in which first the nucleus undergoes multiple division, form many nuclei

that a small portion of cytoplasm concentrate around each nucleus and than protozoan divide into
many daughter cells.

SEXUAL METHODS OF REPRODUCTION

CONJUGATION:

During conjugation, two ciliates line up side by side. The macronucleus, which plays no part in the process,
disintegrates. A series of nuclear divisions of the micronuclei in each ciliate then ensues, including meiosis,
during which a number of haploid micronuclei are produced in both cells. All but one of these haploid
micronuclei disintegrate. The remaining haploid micronucleus in each cell then divides through mitosis into two
haploid nuclei (gamete nuclei). A bridge of cytoplasm forms between the two ciliates, and one gametic nucleus
from each cell passes into the other cell. The two gametic nuclei in each cell unite, thus restoring the diploid
number of chromosomes. The micronucleus undergoes two mitotic divisions to produce four micronuclei: two
of these will form the new micronuclei of the cell, and two are destined to become the macronucleus. Following
the process of conjugation, normal binary fission proceeds. The number of macronuclei and micronuclei formed
is dependent on the species and remains the same as the original number.
GAMETOGONY

Union of two sexually differentiated cells. (male & Female gametes)

Plasmodium

Causative agent of malaria

Malaria, the most frequent tropical parasitosis, is also of medical significance Incentral Europe and
other regions as a traveler’s disease.

The Infection is caused by plasmodia

 Plasmodium vivax
 P. ovale,
 P. malariae
 P. falciparum

Transmitted by the bite of Anopheles Mosquitoes

Malaria is not caused by mosquito anopheles rather it is caused by protozoan species, the parasites which that
mosquito carries Malaria is a problem in developing and tropical countries, about 300-500 million cases of malaria
occur each year and 2-3 million deaths annually. Plasmodium is parasitic protozoan which causes malaria, they are of
few types. Plasmodium. vivax, P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, mostly malaria Is caused by P. falciparum and
P.vivax. An infection initially presents in nonspecific symptoms (headache, fatigue, nausea, fever). Untreated
malaria tropica (caused by P. falciparum) can quickly develop to a lethal outcome.

Life cycle of plasmodium;

Plasmodium completes its life cycle in two hosts.

1. Its primary host, where it completes its asexual cycle, is the man.
2. Its vector, or secondary host, is a female Anopheles mosquito, with whom it completes its sexual cycle.
3. Female Anopheles mosquitos have sporozoites in their salivary glands.
4. They get into the human bloodstream and make their way to the liver cells.
5. The sporozoites undergo asexual multiple fission in liver cells, resulting in the formation of new cells
known as merozoites.
6. Merozoites were released when liver cells burst open.
7. Merozoites go through two stages: trophozoite and signet ring trophozoite.
8. The trophozoite of the signet ring ingests proteins from the cytoplasm of RBCs.
9. It creates food vacuoles within which digestive enzymes are secreted.
10. Trophozoite grows larger and becomes rounded, forming schizont.
11. Schizont undergoes multiple fissions, resulting in a large number of daughter nuclei.
12. Once after rupturing the blood cells, gametocytes are produced.
 13. The gametocyte produced in the human blood gets transferred to the mosquito when it bites an
infected person.
14. Now inside mosquito the sexual reproduction of gametocytes will take place and these gametes
will transform into zygote and into oocyst these oocysts contain merozoites which will settle into
salivary glands of mosquito ready to infect another human being.

Trypanosomiasis
African Trypanosomiasis, also known as “sleeping sickness”, is caused by microscopic parasites of the
species Trypanosoma brucei. It is transmitted by the tsetse fly (Glossina species), which is found only in
sub-Saharan Africa. Two morphologically indistinguishable subspecies of the parasite cause distinct
disease patterns in humans: T. b. gambiense causes a slowly progressing African trypanosomiasis in
western and central Africa and T. b. rhodesiense causes a more acute African trypanosomiasis in eastern
and southern Africa. Control efforts have reduced the number of annual cases and for the first time in 50
years, the number of reported cases fell under 10,000 in 2009. In 2017–2018, fewer than 2000 cases
were reported to WHO. The number of cases continue to drop and in 2020, fewer than 700 combined
cases were reported to WHO; over 85% caused by T. b. gambiense and around 15% caused
by T. b. rhodesiense. Sleeping sickness is curable with medication but is fatal if left untreated.

Gambiensi 97% common in west Africa, its chronic rhodesiensi 3% eastern and southern Africa, acute
infections Chagas dieseas (American trypanosoma) caused by;Trypanosoma cruzi
Transmission

gambiensi and rohdesiensi transmitted by tseste fly Trypanosoma cruzi (American chagas disease) Transmitted
by triatomine bugs.

Tseste fly Triatomine bugs (kissing bugs)

Can I take a medication to prevent African trypanosomiasis?

There is neither a vaccine nor recommended drug available to prevent African trypanosomiasis.

How can I prevent African trypanosomiasis and prevent other insect bites?

1. Wear protective clothing, including long-sleeved shirts and pants. The tsetse fly can bite through thin
fabrics, so clothing should be made of medium-weight material.
2. Wear neutral-colored clothing. The tsetse fly is attracted to bright colors and very dark colors.
3. Inspect vehicles for tsetse flies before entering. The flies are attracted to moving vehicles.
4. Avoid bushes. The tsetse fly is less active during the hottest period of the day. It rests in bushes but will
bite if disturbed.
 5. Use insect repellant. Though insect repellants have not proven effective in preventing tsetse fly bites,
they are effective in preventing other insects from biting and causing illness.

Amebiasis (amebic dysentery)

Entamoeba histolytica(intestinal parasite) causative agent of Amebic dysentery. Ingested cysts from contaminated
food or water, which form trophozoites in the small intestine.

Symptoms,

The majority of people who are infected with this parasite will experience no symptoms. Those who do become
sick may experience mild or severe symptoms. The mild form of amebiasis includes nausea (a feeling of
sickness in the stomach), diarrhea (loose stool/poop), weight loss, stomach tenderness, and occasional fever.
Rarely, the parasite will spread the body beyond the intestines and cause a more serious infection, such as a
liver abscess (a collection of pus). The symptoms may develop a few days to a few months after exposure but
usually within two to four weeks.

Pathogenesis;

The ingested Entamoeba histolytica (intestinal parasite) pass to the colon, where they feed on intestinal
bacteria, and may invade the epithelium, potentiallyinducing ulceration. The parasite can further spread to
the liver and cause abscesses. In the colon, trophozoites form cysts that pass in the feces (amebic cysts are
resistant to chlorine concentrations used in most water treatment facilities).