Habitat of the infusoria-shoe and features of its vital activity

This creature, with a bright memorable name, everyone remembers from the school program. The habitat of the infusoria-shoe determines many processes of its vital activity. The features of the structure and physiology of this organism we will consider in our article.

Habitat infusoria-shoes: a description

The named unicellular organism, whose only cell resembles the sole of the shoes, can be found only in small fresh water bodies. Infusoria prefers standing water in which the decomposing remains of organic matter are located. Such a habitat infusoria-shoes (photo below shows the shape of the cell) allows it to actively move around in search of food.

How to grow an infusorian

The cage of infusorians is quite large for representatives of this systematic group - up to 0.5 mm. But it is possible to consider it well only under a microscope. If you decide to do this, then ready samples can be taken even in an ordinary aquarium.

Cultivate the culture of the infusorians can be done by everyone. To do this, you need to take a base - a little water from the aquarium or the coastal part of the reservoir. Place a drop of this liquid on a slide and examine under a microscope. If you found infusorians, this basis can be used. Next, the liquid should be placed on the glass, and on both sides - a drop of clean water and salty. After we connect everything with a match, forming the so-called bridge. In such conditions infusoria will begin to move into clean water. This culture is pipetted into a container for further cultivation - it can either be a can of pure water.

To grow infusorians need a nutrient solution. For its preparation, it is necessary to take a little hay and boil it for about 20 minutes in one liter of water. After that, only the spores of the hay stick remain in the solution , and all other microorganisms will die. The resulting liquid needs to stand for 3 days. During this time, the spores will develop into a haystick, which will be an excellent food for infusorians. These single-celled can also be fed with boiled or condensed milk and infusion with hydrolyzed yeast. How to understand that infusorians need to be fed? If the liquid in the jar becomes transparent, then it's time to eat.

Movement of infusorians

The water habitat of the infusoria-shoe allows it to actively move around. She realizes this process with the help of specialized organelles - cilia. On the surface of one infusoria there are about 15 thousand. Their concerted work allows the creature to develop a speed of up to 3 mm / s.

The work of cilia resembles the movement of oars or pendulum. The organelles of movement rise sharply, and afterwards they smoothly return to their place. In one second, the infusoria makes such movements up to several dozen. The infusoria moves with a blunt end forward, while simultaneously turning around the axis of its body.

Power Supplies

According to the type of nutrition, this organism belongs to the group of heterotrophs. The source of ready-made organic substances is the habitat of the infusoria-shoe. Food is provided by specialized vacuoles. And the basis of the diet consists of cells of bacteria and plants, in large quantities located in contaminated water. Their infusoria captures with a small depression - the cellular mouth.

Further, food falls into a kind of pharynx and is found in the cytoplasm. Around it begins to form a digestive vacuole, in which the process of cleavage occurs. Substances in this organelle are exposed to the action of hydrolytic enzymes. Undigested food remains removed from the cilius through the hole - the powder.

Metabolism

The habitat of the infusoria-shoe is a liquid with a certain content of various substances, including salts. In the cytoplasm, their concentration is much lower. Therefore, water continuously flows from the environment into the cell.

Regulation of this process is carried out with the help of contractile vacuoles. In the cage of the ciliates there are two: on the posterior and anterior end of the body. These pulsating cavities are of rounded shape, from which the tubules radiate in all directions. The contractile vacuoles maintain the osmotic pressure at a constant level.

Gas exchange in infusorians is carried out by the whole body surface. Oxygen enters the cytoplasm through the membrane. Here there is an oxidation of organic substances with the release of energy, water and carbon dioxide. Metabolism products are also removed through the membrane.

Methods of reproduction

All processes of vital activity determine the habitat of the infusoria-shoe. Reproduction is no exception. So, at a comfortable temperature, the ciliates divide in two. This process begins with the crushing of the nucleus. Each of the daughter cells receives only a part of the organelles, and the missing cells are restored.

With a decrease in the temperature of the water or a lack of food, the infusorians move on to the sexual process. It is called conjugation. In this case, two infusorians converge, a cytoplasmic bridge forms between them. It exchanges genetic information. As a result, the number of individuals does not change. The significance of this process is the renewal of the hereditary material, which greatly increases the adaptive capacity of organisms.

The water habitat of the infusoria-shoe provides the necessary conditions for the realization of all the processes of its vital activity: active movement, heterotrophic nutrition, aerobic respiration and various types of reproduction.