Scribd
Upload
114 views

Balantidium Coli: B. Coli - Is The Only Ciliate Known To Parasitize Humans

Protozoa are eukaryotic, unicellular organisms that can reproduce asexually through binary fission or multiple fission, or sexually through conjugation. They exhibit various modes of locomotion including crawling via pseudopodia, swimming with cilia or flagella. Medically important protozoa include ciliates like Balantidium coli, which infects the human colon, as well as trypanosomes and leishmania, which are transmitted by insect vectors and can cause serious diseases in humans.

Uploaded by

Michael Vincent P.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
114 views

Balantidium Coli: B. Coli - Is The Only Ciliate Known To Parasitize Humans

Protozoa are eukaryotic, unicellular organisms that can reproduce asexually through binary fission or multiple fission, or sexually through conjugation. They exhibit various modes of locomotion including crawling via pseudopodia, swimming with cilia or flagella. Medically important protozoa include ciliates like Balantidium coli, which infects the human colon, as well as trypanosomes and leishmania, which are transmitted by insect vectors and can cause serious diseases in humans.

Uploaded by

Michael Vincent P.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

PROTOZOA Medically Important Phyla:

General Characteristics: 1. Ciliophora


1. Eukaryotic
2. Unicellular; some, multicellular  body externally ciliated in at least some lifecycle
3. (-) cell wall; *pellicle stages
4. Heterotrophic – phagocytosis  with macro and micronuclei
5. Locomotion: cilia, flagella, pseudopodia
6. Size: 10 – 55 micrometers; *1mm Representative organism
7. Reproduction: Sexual & asexual (binary fission & Balantidium coli
multiple fission)
Defining characteristic: Has 2 contractile vacuoles (rare
Life Cycle of a Typical Protozoan in parasitic protozoa) – unique osmoregulatory capacity
Host: human and other mammals
Natural habitat: Caecum and colon of humans, pigs, rats
and other mammals
Infective stage: Cyst
Transmission: Contaminated food and water (fecal-oral
route)
Infection: asymptomatic
Treatment: tetracycline

B. coli – is the only ciliate known to parasitize humans

 protozoa reproduce asexually: fission, budding,


schizogony
a. Schizogony - multiple fission; the nucleus
undergoes multiple division before the cell
divides

 sexual reproduction: conjugation (e.g. Paramecium)


a. Conjugation - two cells fuse, and a haploid
nucleus from each cell migrates to the other cell
b. Some protozoa produce gametes (gametocytes)
--> fuse --> 2n zygote

Cyst and Oocyst


 Cyst - The cyst is a dormant stage of bacteria or
protozoa which facilitates the survival during
unfavourable environmental conditions.
 Oocyst - Oocyst is a type of thick-walled cell that is
present in the life cycle of protozoa which contains a
zygote within it.
 reproductive cell
 during zygote development, becomes infective
2. Euglenozoa 3. Slime molds
 with a spiral or crystalline rod inside their flagella a. Cellular
 Dictyostelia
Representative Organisms  spend most of their lives as separate single-celled
a. Hemoflagellates (blood parasites) – large, single amoeboid protists
mitochondrion that contains an organized mass of  when food and water supplies are depleted/scarce,
DNA, the kinetoplast cyclic AMP is release - forms a slug-like colony
 fruiting body
a.1. Trypanosoma
 African sleeping sickness (Trypanosomiasis) b. Plasmodial
 Two species:  no cell walls
- Trypanosoma gambiense  exist as thin masses of protoplasm with many
- Trypanosoma brucei nuclei, called plasmodia
 Vector: Tsetse fly
 Parasite  enters the bloodstream and Why are slime molds classified as amoeba and not fungi?
lymphatic system  crosses BBB - the most characteristic structure of a slime
 Tryptophol – chemical produced by mould is a plasmodium -- a giant amoeba with thousands
trypanosome that induces sleep of nuclei in a single mass of protoplasm. This plasmodium
 Treatment: eflornithine (blocks enzyme moves around slowly in decaying organic matter or the
required for proliferation) soil, eating - swallowing up or ingesting -- bacteria and
other tiny particles of organic matter.
 Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis)
Trypanosoma cruzi No true fungus 'eats' in this way. All fungi have to absorb
 Vector: Triatomine bugs (kissing bugs) their food.
 Prevention: Use insecticide

a.2 Leishmania (Leishmaniasis)


 found parts of the tropics and subtropics
 Vector: sandfly
 Three types:
1. Visceral (Leishmania donovani)
- invasion of internal organs like liver,
spleen, kidneys
- treatment: Amphotericin B

2. Cutaneous (Leishmania tropica)


- skin lesions
- treatment: Pentamidine

3. Mucocutaneous (Leishmania braziliensis)


- disfiguring destruction of nasal and
oral mucosa
- treatment: Oral miltefosine

You might also like