Color the reservoir grey and the flagellum black. The Euglena is unique in that it is both heterotrophic must consume food and autotrophic can make its own food.
Chloroplasts within the euglena trap sunlight that is used for photosynthesis, and can be seen as several rod like structures throughout the cell. Color the chloroplasts green. Euglena also have an eyespot at the anterior end that detects light, it can be seen near the reservoir. This helps the euglena find bright areas to gather sunlight to make their food. Color the eyespot red. Euglena can also gain nutrients by absorbing them across their cell membrane, hence they become heterotrophic when light is not available, and they cannot photosynthesize.
Although not generally considered a cell wall, it has similar functions in providing some rigidity and strength that the membrane cannot provide. However the pellicle is much more flexible than most cell walls and allows for the change in form that is often seen in Euglena motion.
Euglena reproduces asexually when cells divide. No sexual reproduction has been found within the group. Sometimes Euglena are a typical photoautotroph s , using the energy of sunlight to synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and then using the carbohydrates as an energy source in cellular respiration and as building materials to synthesize a variety of biomolecules.
Euglenoids store carbohydrates in a different glucose polymer than typical starch — the glucose units are combined in a 1,3 linkage, rather than the 1,4 linkage found in normal starch. Euglenoids may also behave like heterotrophs and acquire material by ingestion phagocytosis or by absorption of solutes from its aquatic environment. Some forms of Euglena lack chloroplasts and are solely heterotrophic. Euglena can be important components of certain aquatic environments and play a role as both a primary producer, eaten by other organisms, and also as a decomposer heterotroph that consumes other organisms and breaks them down, or consumes dead organic material and breaks it down.
The eye-spot responds to sunlight, allowing the cell to move towards it and best optimise photosynthesis. In recent years, Euglena has been marketed as a superfood and has gained popularity in Japan for its health benefits - particularly its high nutritional value. Euglena has recently experienced a resurgence in interest for its potential applications in biotechnology and its fascinating biology.
The ability of Euglena to produce bioproducts is one which could have great commercial value. For example, we may be able to use its ability to synthesise sugars by photosynthesis and alter its metabolism to produce biofuel. Another interesting aspect of this organism is its unusual evolution. Euglena belongs to a group of organisms known as the kinetoplastids, and is of further interest to study because - unlike many of the members of this group, including the trypanosome that causes African sleeping sickness - it does not cause disease.
We can therefore compare the DNA of Euglena with that of similar organisms to understand the evolution of pathogens versus non-pathogens. Another particularly interesting aspect of Euglena is its relatively complex genome. Kinetoplastids tend to carry genetic information in blocks, which is strange for eukaryotes. In this way, once we have a good set of DNA sequences for organisms such as Euglena, it will be a great resource to really get to grips with studying the evolution of characteristics such as parasitism.
Our research aims to gain insight into the genetics of Euglena to support further research into its potential as a producer of biofuels.
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