One of the most typical widely known representatives of the ciliary is the ciliates-slipper. It lives, as a rule, in standing water, as well as in freshwater reservoirs, where the current is distinguished by the exception of assertiveness. Its habitat must necessarily contain decaying organic matter. It would be advisable to consider in detail all aspects of the life of this representative of the fauna.
Ciliary representatives
Ciliary ( ciliates) - a type of protist included in the Alveolata group. It is important to note that among them there are various forms of representatives: attached and mobile, colonial and solitary. The structure of their body is very diverse. The type of infusoria is characterized by body sizes that range from 10 microns to 4.5 mm (this applies to single forms). As noted above, they live mainly in freshwater bodies of water, but they also occur in the seas as a part of benthos and plankton (less often in soil or in mosses). It is important to note that a considerable part of the considered representatives of the flora are symbionts or parasites of other creatures: fish, annelids, mollusks, and so on. In addition, many ciliates (for example, the type of ciliates-shoes ) can be considered as models of organisms in relation to biology at the molecular level.
Systematic aspect
It should be noted that ciliates are a type whose infestation comes from the word “tincture” (translated from Latin). This can be explained by the fact that the first representatives of protozoa were found precisely in tinctures of herbal composition. Over time, the development of this type began to rapidly gain momentum. Thus, today in biology about 6-7 thousand species are known, which includes the type of ciliates . If you rely on data from the 1980s, it can be argued that the type in question contains two classes in its structure: Ciliary ciliates (has three superorders) and Sucking ciliates. In connection with this information, we can conclude that the diversity of living organisms is very wide, which causes genuine interest.
Infusoria Type: Representatives
Bright representatives of this type are the infusoria-balantidium and the infusoria-shoe. Distinctive features of these animals are the coating of the pellicle with cilia, which are used for movement, the protection of the ciliates by means of specially designed organs, trichocysts (located in the ectoplasm of the membrane), as well as the presence in the cell of two nuclei (vegetative and generative). In addition, the oral cavity on the body of the ciliator forms a mouth funnel, which tends to pass into the cell mouth leading to the pharynx. It is there that digestion vacuoles are created, which serve directly to digest food. But undigested components are removed from the body through a powder. The characteristic of the type of ciliates is very multifaceted, but the main points are considered above. The only thing that should be added is that two contractile vacuoles of the ciliates are located in opposite parts of the body. It is through their functioning that excess water or metabolic products are eliminated from the body.
Infusoria shoe
In order to qualitatively consider the structure and lifestyle of such interesting organisms of a unicellular structure, it would be advisable to turn to the corresponding example. This requires ciliates, shoes, widespread in freshwater reservoirs. They can easily be bred in ordinary containers (for example, in aquariums), the meadow hay is filled with the simplest fresh water, because in tinctures of this type, as a rule, a great many species of protozoa develop, including ciliates. So, using a microscope, you can in practice study all the information that is provided in the article.
Characteristics of ciliates
As noted above, ciliates are a type that includes many elements, the most interesting of which is the ciliates-shoe. This is a unicellular animal, the length of which is half a millimeter, endowed with a fusiform shape. It should be noted that visually this organism resembles a shoe, whence, accordingly, is such an intriguing name. The ciliates-shoe is constantly in a state of motion, and it swims with a blunt end forward. It is interesting that the speed of its movement often reaches 2.5 mm per second, which is very good for a representative of this type. On the surface of the body of the ciliates, cilia can be observed, serving as motor organoids. Like all ciliates, the organism in question has two nuclei in its structure: the large one is responsible for the nutritional, respiratory, motor and metabolic processes, and the small one takes part in the sexual aspect.
Organism ciliates
The body of the ciliates is very complex. The outer coating of this representative is a thin elastic shell. She is able to maintain the correct body shape throughout her life. Impeccably developed supporting fibrils located in the cytoplasm layer, which is tightly attached to the membrane, serve as faithful helpers in this. The surface of the body of the ciliates is endowed with a huge number (about 15,000) of cilia, oscillating regardless of external circumstances. At the base of each of them is a basal body. Cilia move about 30 times per second, which pushes the body forward. It is important to note that the wave-like movements of these tools are very consistent, which allows the ciliates to slowly and beautifully rotate around the longitudinal axis of their bodies during movement.
Ciliates - a type of particular interest
For an absolute understanding of all the features of the ciliates, it is advisable to consider the basic processes of its life. So, the type of nutrition of ciliates is reduced to the use of bacteria and algae. The body of the body is endowed with a recess called the cellular mouth and passing into the pharynx, at the bottom of which food enters directly into the vacuole. There it is digested for about an hour, making the transition from acidic to alkaline in the process. Vacuoles move in the body of the ciliates through a current of cytoplasm, and undigested residues go out in the back of the body through the powder.
The breathing of the ciliates is carried out through the flow of oxygen into the cytoplasm through the integument of the body. And excretory processes occur through two contractile vacuoles. As for the irritability of organisms, ciliates, shoes have the property of collecting in bacterial complexes in response to the action of substances released by bacteria. And they float away from such an irritant like sodium chloride.
Breeding
An infusoria shoe can breed in one of two ways. Asexual reproduction, according to which the nuclei are divided into two parts, is more widespread. As a result of this operation, 2 cores (large and small) appear in each ciliator. Sexual reproduction is appropriate when there are some nutritional deficiencies or a change in the temperature regime of the animal’s body. It should be noted that after this, the infusoria can turn into a cyst. But with the sexual type of reproduction, an increase in the number of individuals is excluded. So, two ciliates are connected to each other for a certain period of time, as a result of which the membrane dissolves and a connecting bridge forms between the animals. It is important that the large core of each of them disappears without a trace, and the small one undergoes the fission process twice. Thus, in each ciliator 4 daughter nuclei are formed, after which three of them are destroyed, and the fourth is divided again. This sexual process is called conjugation. And its duration can reach 12 hours.