One of the most typical well-known representatives of the ciliary is the ciliate shoe. It lives, as a rule, in water of a standing direction, as well as in freshwater-type 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.
Representatives of eyelashes
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 Ciliates type is characterized by body sizes that vary from 10 microns to 4.5 mm (this applies to single forms). As noted above, they live mainly in fresh water bodies, but they are also found in the seas as part of benthos and plankton (less often in soil or mosses). It is important to note that a considerable part of the considered representatives of the flora issymbionts or parasites of other creatures: fish, annelids, molluscs, and so on. In addition, many ciliates (the slipper type of ciliate is an example) can be considered as model organisms in relation to biology at the molecular level.
Systematic aspect
It should be noted that Ciliates are a type whose name 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 herbal tinctures. Over time, the development of this type began to rapidly gain momentum. Thus, already today in biology about 6-7 thousand species are known, which include the type of Ciliates. If we rely on the data of the 1980s, then it can be argued that the type in question contains two classes in its structure: Ciliated 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 is of genuine interest.
Ciliates Type: Representatives
Bright representatives of this type are ciliates-balantidia and ciliates-shoe. Distinctive features of these animals are the covering of the pellicle with cilia, which are used for movement, the protection of ciliates through specially designed organs, trichocysts (located in the ectoplasm of the shell), and the presence of two nuclei in the cell (vegetative and generative). Besides,the oral recess on the body of the ciliates forms an oral funnel, which tends to pass into the cellular mouth leading to the pharynx. It is there that the digestive vacuoles are created, which serve directly for the digestion of food. But undigested components are removed from the body through the powder. The characteristic of the Ciliates type is very multifaceted, but the main points are discussed above. The only thing to add is that the 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 removed from the body.
Infusoria shoe
In order to qualitatively consider the structure and way of life of such interesting organisms of a unicellular structure, it would be appropriate to refer to the corresponding example. This requires infusoria-shoes, widespread in freshwater reservoirs. They can easily be bred in ordinary containers (for example, in aquariums), flooding meadow hay with the simplest fresh water, because in tinctures of this type, as a rule, a great many species of protozoa develop, including ciliates-shoes. So, through a microscope, you can practically study all the information provided in the article.
Characteristics of ciliates-shoes
As noted above, Ciliates are a type that includes many elements, the most interesting of which is the ciliate shoe. This is a single-celled animal, the length of which is half a millimeter, endowed withspindle shape. It should be noted that visually this organism resembles a shoe, hence, accordingly, such an intriguing name. The infusoria-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-shoes, cilia can be observed that serve as motor organelles. Like all ciliates, the organism in question has two nuclei in its structure: the large one is responsible for nutritional, respiratory, motor and metabolic processes, and the small one takes part in the sexual aspect.
Ciliates body-shoes
The device of the organism of ciliates-shoes is very complex. The outer coating of this representative is a thin elastic shell. It is able to maintain the correct shape of the body of the body throughout life. Faithful assistants in this are perfectly developed supporting fibers located in the cytoplasmic layer, which is tightly adjacent to the membrane. The surface of the body of the ciliate shoe is endowed with a huge number (about 15,000) of cilia, which fluctuate regardless of external circumstances. At the base of each of them is a basal body. The cilia move about 30 times per second, pushing the body forward. It is important to note that the wave-like movements of these instruments are very coordinated, which allows the infusoria to move slowly and beautifully.rotate around the longitudinal axis of your body.
Infusoria are a type of definite interest
For an absolute understanding of all the features of the ciliates-shoes, it is advisable to consider the main processes of its life. So, the type of nutrition of ciliates is reduced to the use of bacteria and algae. The body of the organism 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 an acidic to an alkaline environment in the process. The vacuoles move in the body of the ciliate through the flow of the cytoplasm, and undigested residues go out in the back of the body through the powder.
The respiration of ciliates-shoes is carried out by means of oxygen entering the cytoplasm through the integuments of the body. And excretory processes occur through two contractile vacuoles. As for the irritability of organisms, ciliates-shoes tend to assemble into bacterial complexes in response to the action of substances secreted by bacteria. And they swim away from such an irritant like table s alt.
Reproduction
Infusoria shoe can reproduce in one of two ways. Asexual reproduction has become more widespread, according to which the nuclei are divided into two parts. As a result of this operation, each ciliate contains 2 nuclei (large and small). Sexual reproduction is appropriate when there are some nutritional deficiencies or a change in the temperature regime of the animal's body. Necessarynote 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 shell is dissolved and a connecting bridge is formed between the animals. The important thing is that the large nucleus of each of them disappears without a trace, and the small one goes through the process of fission twice. Thus, in each ciliate, 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.
