AMOEBA PROTEUS

Amoeba proteus, previously Chaos diffluens, is an amoeba closely related to the Giant Amoebae. These are the species that are commonly bought at science supply stores.

This small protozoan uses tentacular protuberances called pseudopodia to move and phagocytose smaller unicellular organisms, which are enveloped inside the cell's cytoplasm in a food vacuole,[1] where they are slowly broken down by enzymes. Amoeba proteus is very well known for its extending pseudopodia. It occupies freshwater environments and feeds on other protozoans, algae, rotifers, and even other smaller amoebae. Due to phytochromes, A. proteus may appear in a variety of colors (often yellow, green and purple) under a microscope.

Paramecium Aurelia Paramecium aurelia are unicellular organisms belonging to the genus Paramecium of the phylum Ciliophora. They are covered in cilia which help in movement and feeding. Paramecium can reproduce sexually, asexually, or by the process of endomixis.[3] Paramecium aurelia demonstrate a strong sex reaction whereby groups of individuals will cluster together, and emerge in conjugant pairs. This pairing can last up to 12 hours, during which the micronucleus of each organism will be exchanged. In Paramecium aurelia, a cryptic species complex was discovered by observation. Since then, some have tried to decode this complex using genetic data.

EUGLENA GRACILIS Euglena gracilis is a popular flagellated laboratory microorganism found in freshwater environments.1 A Euglena cell is represent of one of the simplest and earliest derived eukaryotic cells. Euglena gracilis have an exquisite spiral exoskeleton called a pellicle as well as many other novel cell structures such as photosensors and endosymbiotic chloroplasts. The taxonomy of this unique organism was debated for many years. This microorganism is now characterized as a eukaryotic protist but exhibits animal as well as plant like traits.2 It is chimeric microorganism, functioning both as a photoautotroph and chemoheterotroph. Euglena gracilis can grow in the dark, when loosing it's chloroplasts by using it's heterotophic metabolic strategy.2 Eventually, it regains it's chloroplasts once exposed to light.1 Probably some of the most significant reasons it is so valued, today, is for it's secondary endosymbiotic acquiring and use of it's chloroplasts via phagocytosis and it's endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT) as a mechanism for horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Wild strains are very resilient and can endure a number of environmental stresses including a known pollutant. 4 It's comparatively greater photoautotrophic ability of carbon fixation and heterotrophic ability make it a model organism for experimentation for global warming and space station biosphere solutions .5