Nutrition in Amoeba

A type of cell or unicellular organism which has the capability to change its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopodia is known as an Amoeba. An amoeba is found in every major lineage of eukaryotic organisms.  An amoeba, also spelled "ameba," is a single-celled eukaryotic organism with no discernible structure that travels using pseudopodia. Pseudopodia, also known as pseudopods, are transient cell extensions that literally mean "false feet." The pseudopodia are used by the cell to move about. Amoebae, not amoebas, is the plural of amoeba. Although the terms "amoeba" and "amoeboid" are frequently used to refer to all protozoa that move with pseudopodia, Amoeba (written in italics and with a capital letter) refers to a specific genus of protozoa, with Amoeba proteus being the best-known species.

When seen under a microscope, an amoeba looks as a colourless, translucent drop of jelly. It lacks a distinct body shape because it constantly alters its shape by creating pseudopodia. As a result, its precise shape, front and posterior ends, and dorsal and ventral surfaces cannot be described. Furthermore, because the shape of an amoeba can alter, its body cannot be separated into two identical halves. Asymmetry is the term for this condition. A fully grown Amoeba can range in size from 1/20 mm to 1 mm. Plasmalema and Protoplasm are the two primary elements of an amoeba's body.

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Mode of Nutrition in Amoeba

Amoeba is a type of protozoa that can be found in freshwater. It feeds on water-borne tiny plants and animals. Holozoic nutrition is the mode of nourishment in amoeba. Phagocytosis is the method through which an amoeba obtains nourishment. Amoeba takes its nutrition through a process called phagocytosis where the entire organism swallows the food it plans on eating up. The mode through which an amoeba engulfs nutrition is known as holozoic nutrition. It leads to the process of  ingestion, digestion and egestion of food material. Amoeba doesn’t not have any specialized organs for nutrition. Its entire process is carried through the body surface with the assistance of pseudopodia.

Process of Nutrition in Amoeba

The process by which organisms engulf nutrition inside the body of either solid or liquid food is called the Holozoic Nutrition. The intake of nutrition takes place in the following 5 steps:

• Ingestion

• Digestion

• Absorption

• Assimilation

• Egestion

• Ingestion

The process of taking in the food into the body either by swallowing or absorbing it is called the procedure of Ingestion. Amoeba oozes out the pseudopodia to encircle the food and engulfs it forming a food vacuole. This process is known as phagocytosis.

• Digestion

The process of breaking the insoluble and enormous food molecules into soluble and minute molecules is called the process of Digestion.  Amoeba digestion occurs intracellularly, within the cell. The food is stored in a food vacuole or stomach vacuole, which is made up of the cell membrane and a tiny amount of cytoplasm. Cytoplasmic motions transport the vacuoles deeper into the cells. They combine with lysosomes, which contain enzymes, in this location. Amylase and proteinase are two enzymes that have been discovered. Sugars, cellulose, and proteins can all be digested by amoeba. In amoeba, the food vacuoles are put deeper into the cell, and with the assistance of the digestive enzymes, the massive insoluble particles are churned down to the simpler molecules.

• Absorption

In this process of absorption, the nutrients from the digested food material are absorbed by the cell’s cytoplasm by keeping behind the undigested particles. This process is called diffusion. The excess food is stored as a form of glycogen and lipids.

• Assimilation

The process of obtaining energy from the absorbed food molecules is called the procedure of Assimilation. In amoeba, absorbed food molecules are utilized for producing the energy required to hold different life processes within the cell.

• Egestion

The process of excretion of undigested food material is called Egestion. In amoeba, this process is administered by rupturing the cell wall to take out the undigested food material from its body. Exocytosis is the process of egestion.  Undigested materials are transferred to the back of the amoeba and expelled as food pellets through a transient opening produced at any point on the plasmalemma as the amoeba travels forward.

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Amoeba has a heterotrophic feeding mechanism. The food may be taken in by the entire surface of the amoeba because it is a simple, single-celled organism. A rudimentary form of digestion occurs in food vacuoles instead of a specialized digestive system.