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Euglena is a genus of single cell flagellate eukaryotes. It is the best known and most widely studied member of the class Euglenoidea, a diverse group containing some 54 genera and at least 200 species. [1] [2] Species of Euglena are found in fresh water and salt water.
Euglenids or euglenoids are one of the best-known groups of eukaryotic flagellates: single-celled organisms with flagella, or whip-like tails.They are classified in the phylum Euglenophyta, class Euglenida or Euglenoidea.
Euglena gracilis is a freshwater species of single-celled alga in the genus Euglena. It has secondary chloroplasts , and is a mixotroph able to feed by photosynthesis or phagocytosis . It has a highly flexible cell surface, allowing it to change shape from a thin cell up to 100 μm long to a sphere of approximately 20 μm.
Euglenaceae show the most morphological diversity within the class Euglenophyceae. [3] They are mostly single-celled organisms, except for the genus Colacium.They are free-living or sometimes inhabiting the digestive tracts of animals. [1]
Euglenales consists mostly of freshwater organisms, in contrast to its sister Eutreptiales which is generally marine. Cells have two flagella, but only one is emergent; the other is very short and does not emerge from the cell, so cells appear to have only one flagellum. [3]
Criticism of this system began in the latter half of the 19th century, with the realization that many organisms met the criteria for inclusion among both plants and animals. For example, the algae Euglena and Dinobryon have chloroplasts for photosynthesis, like plants, but can also feed on organic matter and are motile, like animals.
[36] [37] Protozoa, like plants and animals, can be considered heterotrophs or autotrophs. [33] Autotrophs like Euglena are capable of producing their energy using photosynthesis, while heterotrophic protozoa consume food by either funneling it through a mouth-like gullet or engulfing it with pseudopods, a form of phagocytosis. [33]
Euglena viridis is a freshwater, single cell, mixotroph microalgae bearing a secondary chloroplast. [1] Their chloroplast is bounded by three layers of membrane without a nucleomorph . [ 2 ] Normally, it is 40–65 μm long, slightly bigger than other well-known Euglena species: Euglena gracilis .