Nutrition in Amoeba
Amoeba is a unicellular animal that lives in water. It eats microscopic plants/animals floating in its surroundings. This mode of nutrition is called Holozoic nutrition..The process of obtaining food by an amoeba (or any unicellular organism) is called phagocytosis .
Ingestion:
- An amoeba does not have a mouth. It ingests food using its pseudopodia .
- Pseudopodia are temporary figure like projections.
- They engulf the food particle with some water to form a vacuole .
Digestion:
- It releases digestive enzymes in the vacuole which break down food into small, soluble molecules.
Absorption:
- This digested food is absorbed into cytoplasm by diffusion. After diffusion, the food vacuole disappears.
Assimilation:
- The energy obtained from the food is used for the growth and development of amoeba and this is known as assimilation.
Egestion:
- When a considerable amount of undigested food accumulates inside the amoeba, it’s cell membrane ruptures and the waste is discarded
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Nutrition in Paramecium
Paramecium is also a unicellular organism that lives in water.
Ingestion:
- Paramecium has hair-like structures called cillia that it uses to sweep food particles from water and put them into its mouth .
- The cilia move back and forth to move the food particle towards the mouth. The process is known as ingestion .
Digestion:
- It releases digestive enzymes in the vacuole which break down food into small, soluble molecules.
Absorption
- This digested food is absorbed into cytoplasm by diffusion. After diffusion, the food vacuole disappears.
Assimilation:
- The energy obtained from the food is used for the growth and development of amoeba and this is known as assimilation.
Egestion:
- When a considerable amount of undigested food accumulates inside the amoeba, it’s cell membrane ruptures and the waste is discarded
In multicellular organisms, the similar digestive processes are carried out by a combination of digestive organs.This group of organs is called the Digestive System .
