Giardia Intestinalis and Waterborne Infections

Podcast Beta

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What is the distinguishing feature of Parabasalids?

The presence of multiple nuclei per cell

The possession of undulating membrane used in locomotion (correct)

The ability to generate energy anaerobically

The presence of rod with a spiral structure

What is the primary role of Trichomonas vaginalis in the human body?

To outcompete beneficial microorganisms in the vagina (correct)

To fix nitrogen in the soil

To aid in digestion in the gut

To break down cellulose in wood-based diet

What is the result of Giardia infection?

Severe diarrhea (correct)

Skin rashes

Respiratory problems

Neurological disorders

What is the unique feature of Euglenozoa's flagella?

Presence of a rod with a spiral structure Signup and view all the answers

How can Giardia infection be prevented?

By boiling contaminated water Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of hydrogenosomes in Parabasalids?

To generate energy anaerobically Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the cytostome in dinoflagellates?

To ingest food through a permanent cell mouth Signup and view all the answers

What is unique about the cellular organization of Haplozoon?

It has a syncytial composition of cell-like compartments Signup and view all the answers

What is the cause of the color of the water during a dinoflagellate bloom?

Carotenoids in the plastids Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used to describe a bloom that produces detectable levels of toxic substances?

Red tide Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect of consuming tainted mollusc or fish on humans?

It can be fatal Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the long, motile tentacle in Noctiluca?

To capture prey and ingest it between the flexible plates Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect of the toxins produced by dinoflagellates on humans?

They can be fatal to humans Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic of the posterior area of the body in many dinoflagellates?

It has a permanent cell mouth between the plates Signup and view all the answers

What is the reason for closing a beach during a red tide?

Until the filter-feeders have digested all the dinoflagellate toxin they consumed Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between cilia and flagella?

Cilia are identical to flagella, except in number Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the pellicle in ciliates?

To maintain the cell's shape Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of micronuclei in ciliates?

Exchanging genetic information during conjugation Signup and view all the answers

What happens to the macronucleus during conjugation?

It disintegrates Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of contractile vacuoles in ciliates?

To regulate water balance Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of meiosis during conjugation in ciliates?

Four haploid micronuclei, three of which degenerate Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the temporary union of two ciliates to exchange chromosomal material?

Conjugation Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary mode of nutrient acquisition in oomycetes?

Decomposition Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic feature of hyphae in oomycetes?

Multinucleate Signup and view all the answers

What was the cause of the Irish potato blight disease in the 19th century?

Phytophthera infestans (an Oomycete) Signup and view all the answers

What is the common feature of locomotion in Rhizarians and Amoebozoans?

Pseudopods Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic feature of Cercozoa?

Testate protists with heterogeneous morphology Signup and view all the answers

What is unique about the test of Euglypha, a testate cercozoan?

It is collected from particles Signup and view all the answers

What is the material composition of the skeleton of Phaeodarians?

Amorphous silica with magnesium, calcium, and copper Signup and view all the answers

What is the feature of Clathrulina, a cercozoan?

It has a siliceous capsule Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of the fusion of pronuclei in sexual reproduction?

Restoring the diploid number of chromosomes Signup and view all the answers

What is the advantage of sexual reproduction in terms of genetic variation?

It increases genetic variation in the population Signup and view all the answers

What is unique about the hereditary material of exconjugants?

It is from two individuals Signup and view all the answers

What is the mode of nutrition of free-living ciliates?

Predatory and suspension feeders Signup and view all the answers

What is the common habitat of most ciliates?

Freshwater and marine habitats Signup and view all the answers

What is the characteristic feature of apicomplexans?

The presence of an apical complex Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the apical complex in apicomplexans?

Penetrating host cells Signup and view all the answers

What is the common life cycle stage of apicomplexans?

A combination of schizogony and sporogony Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Giardia Intestinalis (Parabasalids)

Can infect people when they drink water contaminated with feces containing Giardia cysts, causing severe diarrhea.
Boiling water kills the parasite.
Possesses an undulating membrane used in locomotion, in addition to flagella.
Has one nucleus per cell and reduced mitochondria called hydrogenosomes that generate energy anaerobically, releasing hydrogen gas.
Some live symbiotically in the guts of termites and cockroaches, digesting cellulose in their wood-based diet.

Trichomonas Vaginalis (Parabasalids)

A sexually transmitted parasite that infects about 140 million people each year worldwide.
Travels along the mucus-coated lining of the human reproductive and urinary tracts by moving its flagella and undulating part of its plasma membrane.
In females, if the vagina's normal acidity is disturbed, T. vaginalis can outcompete beneficial microorganisms and infect the vagina.

Euglenozoans

A diverse clade that includes predatory heterotrophs, photosynthetic autotrophs, mixotrophs, and parasites.
Main morphological feature is the presence of a rod with either a spiral or crystalline structure inside each of their flagella.
Many species can ingest prey through a permanent cell mouth between the plates near the posterior area of the body.
Some, like Ceratium, can catch food with posterior pseudopodia and ingest it between the flexible plates in the posterior groove.
Voracious predators that ingest other protists and microinvertebrates or use specialized cellular appendages to pierce prey and suck out their cytoplasmic contents.

Dinoflagellates (Euglenozoans)

Can produce light (bioluminescence).
Can form red tides, making coastal waters brownish-red or pink due to carotenoids in their plastids.
Can produce toxins that can cause massive fish kills, affecting humans who consume tainted molluscs or fish.
Toxins do not harm dinoflagellates but can harm fish or other marine life.

Red Tide

Any instance of a bloom producing detectable levels of toxic substances is called a red tide.
Beaches may be closed during a red tide until filter-feeders have digested all the dinoflagellate toxin they consumed.

Ciliophora

Features:
- Cilia often cover the entire cell or may be clustered in a few rows or tufts.
- Cilia used for swimming and feeding arise from subsurface basal granules.
- Cilia may be fused into a sheet called an undulating membrane or into smaller membranelles, both used to propel food into the cytopharynx.
- Possess two types of nuclei: micro and macronucleus.
- Possess a large contractile vacuole.
- Complex organelles mostly as part of the pellicle.

Paramecium (Ciliophoran)

Micronuclei are for exchange of genetic information during conjugation.
Macronuclei are required for producing RNAs and proteins for daily functions.
During asexual reproduction by binary fission, the macronucleus divides into two pieces, and new gullets and two new contractile vacuoles appear.

Conjugation in Ciliophora

Temporary union of two individuals to exchange chromosomal material.
During conjugation, the haploid micronuclei resulting from meiotic division function as gametes.
The remaining micronucleus then divides into two haploid pronuclei, one of which is exchanged with the other conjugant.

Apicomplexa

Almost all apicomplexans are endoparasitic.
Lack visible means of locomotion, although pseudopodia occur in some intracellular stages, and gametes of some species are flagellated.
The presence of an apical complex, usually for penetrating host cells, distinguishes this clade.
Apicoplast, a modified plastid, may be ringlike, tubular, or filamentous.

Oomycetes

Although descended from plastid-bearing ancestors, they no longer have plastids and do not perform photosynthesis.
Typically acquire nutrients as decomposers or parasites.
Many water molds are decomposers that grow as cottony masses on dead algae and animals.
The devastating Irish potato blight disease was caused by an Oomycete, Phytophthera infestans.

Rhizaria

Both Rhizarians and Amoebozoans use pseudopods for locomotion.
Pseudopods are flowing projections of cytoplasm that extend to pull the organism forward.
Rhizarians are amoebas and flagellated protists that feed using threadlike pseudopodia.
Within the Rhizaria, three distinct monophyletic groups have been identified: Radiolaria, Foraminifera, and Cercozoa.

Cercozoa (Rhizaria)

The group is heterogeneous in terms of morphology.
Flagellated and ameboid members.
Ameboid cercozoans also vary in pseudopodia formed: axopodia are made in phaeodarians and desmothoracids, but other members of the group make filopodia.
Ameboid members of the group may be naked or testate.
Euglypha, a testate cercozoan, makes a test from collected particles, while Clathrulina makes a siliceous capsule.

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Description

Learn about Giardia intestinalis, a parasitic infection caused by contaminated water, and its characteristics, including undulating membrane and anaerobic energy generation. Explore the effects of boiling water on the parasite and its impact on human health.