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Clockwise from top right: Amoeba proteus, Actinophrys sol, Acanthamoeba sp., Nuclearia thermophila., Euglypha acanthophora, neutrophil ingesting bacteria. An amoeba (/ ə ˈ m iː b ə /; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; pl.: amoebas (less commonly, amebas) or amoebae (amebae) / ə ˈ m iː b i /), [1] often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability ...
Anatomy of an Amoeba. Species of Amoeba move and feed by extending temporary structures called pseudopodia. These are formed by the coordinated action of microfilaments within the cellular cytoplasm pushing out the plasma membrane which surrounds the cell. [11] In Amoeba, the pseudopodia are approximately tubular, and rounded at the ends ...
A common example of this type of amoeboid cell is the macrophage. They are also essential to amoeboid-like locomotion. Human mesenchymal stem cells are a good example of this function: these migratory cells are responsible for in-utero remodeling; for example, in the formation of the trilaminar germ disc during gastrulation. [13]
Cells which use flagella for movement are usually referred to as flagellates, cells which use cilia are usually referred to as ciliates, and cells which use pseudopods are usually referred to as amoeba or amoeboids. Other protists are not motile, and consequently have no built-in movement mechanism.
The individual cells in their independent phase are common on organic detritus or in damp soils and caves. In this phase they are amoebae. Typically, the amoebal cells grow separately and wander independently, feeding mainly on bacteria. However, they interact to form multi-cellular structures following starvation.
This amoeba can be found naturally all over the environment — in lakes, rivers, seawater and soil. It can cause diseases of the skin and sinuses, and can infect the brain, where it can cause a ...
Some examples of organisms that exhibit this type of locomotion are amoebae (such as Amoeba proteus and Naegleria gruberi, [2]) and slime molds, as well as some cells in humans such as leukocytes. Sarcomas , or cancers arising from connective tissue cells, are particularly adept at amoeboid movement, thus leading to their high rate of metastasis .
In some cases the cell moves by "walking", with relatively permanent pseudopodia serving as limbs. The most important genera are Amoeba and Chaos, which are set apart from the others by longitudinal ridges. The best known of the species in this family is Amoeba proteus, commonly used in classrooms to demonstrate movement by pseudopodia.