Euglena+-+BF

=An Introduction=

Imagine that you are alone in the dark, with no one to feed you. Now imagine that you’re part plant and you feed off of sunlight. You’re slowing starving when you remember that you're also part animal and therefore, can eat things other than sunlight. That is the life of Euglena.

=Euglena: What They Feed Off Of=

toc Euglena are one of the many single celled organisms that we are aware of. Euglena are unique because it could feed off of the other cells as if they were meat or it could feed off of sunlight as if it was a drink. This is what makes Euglena unique as it is the only known organisms that can feed off of both meat and sunlight.

Euglena can be found in quite a few places and is fairly common. The most common places to find Euglena include the surfaces of ponds and stagnant water. Euglena also are used in laboratories as a ** model organism ** [an organism that be used to study humans] could possibly function the way they do in terms of eating habits. =The Longevity of Euglena.=

As most species do the Euglena eventually die they die after three weeks without aging. During this time the Euglena live their “lives.” Euglena also reproduce like all other species. The process in which Euglena reproduce is the way that most single celled organisms reproduce. The name of the process is called cellular division.

Through cellular division Euglena [when they have eaten enough food and have enough sunlight] will begin to split apart, starting at the flagellum [a tail like organelle of a cell]and the lone Euglena will soon have a companion.

=Euglenoid Movement=

Euglena are also unique in the way that they move. For instance when they are pressed against a glass slide in a laboratories they will rapidly contort and stretch their bodies to move across a glass slide. Euglena are currently the only known single celled organisms that can move in this way Returning to the topic of movement Euglena have another way to move. Similarly to other cells if they aren’t pressed against a glass slide they will move like most cells by moving their flagellum [a tail like organelle of a cell] as if it a fish’s tail.

=Shades of Euglena=

One of the more common questions that people ask is “Why are Euglena green?” There are a few different answers depending on the species of Euglena. For instance most Euglena are green because of the chloroplasts [chloroplasts are what allows plants to perform photo]that is inside of their “bodies”. On the other hand, some Euglena are green because of the Algae that contain chloroplasts when they consume them.

However some Euglena are red. According to my article EuglenaSanguinea the reason for this is the chemical in their body called astaxanthin. This chemical allows for the Euglena Sanguinea to block out sunlight if its to bright and could harm them. =Cutting Yourself In Half to Reproduce= As most species do //Euglena// reproduce in some way. The process in which //Euglena// reproduce is called **asexual reproduction.** Through asexual reproduction Euglena essentially reproduce by themselves. However they can only do this if there is enough sunlight and they are full. They start the cell division at the flagellum and slowly tear uppwards to form a new //Euglenian// companion. =Importance=

Now the million dollar question, “Why are they important?” One reason that Euglena are important is because they are able to photosynthesise by taking in carbon dioxide and expelling oxygen so that other organisms can survive.

On the other hand they’re also important as a model organism [an organism that resembles humans in some way and are simple to take care of.] They're important because scientists are studying them to see if humans could possibly feed of of sunlight and solid food.

=**The End**=

As we now know Euglena is one of the more interesting single celled organism, and I might add, the only one capable of photosynthesis and eating other cells. That is the most obvious unique feature of the Euglena.

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