AP bio: Phyla of Protozoa

A microscopic view of a amoeba, a protist from the phylum Sarcomastigophora.  This picture was from: http://homosapienssaveyourearth.blogspot.com/2012/01/it-2-01-amoebas-heavenly-dream.html.)

Phylum Sarcomastigophora
The protozoa in this phyla can be unicellular or colonial.  They can move around by flagella, pseudopodia, or both, and usually reproduce through binary fission and sexual reproduction.  An example of a protozoa from this phylum include the amoeba, which uses a psueopod or "fake foot" to move around.

A microscopic view of the parasitic protozoan labyrinthuloides haliotidis, which is from the phylum labryinthormorpha.  This picture is from: http://eol.org/pages/21984/overview.)

Phylum Labryinthormorpha

The protists in this phylum are spindle-shaped or spherical.  They move by gliding on mucous.  Most of these protozoans are marine and are parasitic towards algae.  An example is labyrinthuloides haliotidis, which is a parasite for abalone.

A microscopic view of mature Plasmodium-malariae.  This picture is from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium_malariae.

Phylum Apicomplexa
These protozoans have a stage in their life cycle where they produce spores.  They have a unique structure called the apical complex (a arrangement of vacuoles, fibers, and other organelles at one end of the cell).  They have complex life cycle in which they inhabit two hosts (ex: a mammal and a mosquito).  The life cycle has an alternation of generations of haploid and diploid and they can reproduce asexually or sexually.  At some point in life, they produce a lot of small infectious organisms through a process called schizogony.  An example of this kind of protozoan include the pathogen Plasmodium-malariae.

This shows a host cell that is infected by Brachiola algerae, a protozoan from the phylum microspora.  This picture is from: http://www.cns.fr/spip/Brachiola-algerae-a-multi-host.html.

Phylum Microspora
These protozoans are intracellular parasites.  They do not have mitochondria and some are pathogens of insects, and are transmitted by a spore.  Five kinds have been seen in the implications of human diseases, such as in people with AIDS.  An example is the Brachiola algerae, which is a pathogen transmitted by mosquitoes. 

A microscopic view of Bonamia ostreae infecting oysters.  This picture is from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/marine/Fish-Shellfish/18364/18610/diseases/notifiableDisease/Bonamiaostreae.

Phylum Ascetospora
These protozoans are parasitic protists.  They have spores for reproduction and do not have polar filaments or polar caps, and are parasitic in mollusks.  An example is the Bonamia ostreae, which infects the flat oyster Ostrea edulis (a type of mollusk).  

The spores of Kudoa thyrsites, a parasitic protist from the phylum Myxozoa.  This picture is from: http://www.journalofparasitology.org/doi/abs/10.1645/GE-548R.1.)

Phylum Myxozoa
These protozoans are also parasitic protists.  Like the phylum Ascetospora, they also have resistant spores.  The spres have one to six polar filaments and these protists are parasitic in fish, both freshwater and marine.  They can cause economic problems in salmon that the farmed.  An example is kudoa thyrsites, which attacks fish muscle and loosens it.

A microscopic view of Paramecium caudatum, a protist from the phylum Ciliophora.  This picture is from: http://101science.com/paramecium.htm.)

Phylum Ciliophora
Phylum Ciliophora is the largest out of the phyla of protozoa.  These protozoans are characterized by using cilia to move around.  They have various unique structures, such as tentacles or toxicysts (threadlike darts).  To feed, they capture food with the cilia and the food is eventually passed to the vacuoles to digest.  These protozoans can reproduce asexually by binary fission and sexually by conjugation.  Most of them are harmless but some are parasites.  An example is the Paramecium caudatum, a harmless, free-living protist. 


Sources:
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072320419/student_view0/chapter27/study_outline.html
Campbell and Reece's Biology, Sixth Edition