Euglena+-+SB

=Introduction=  What is the objective of the human race? It’s to live and survive. That is also the objective of the euglena gracilis, also known as euglena. Euglena is a single cell organism that has all the features it needs to survive. And to survive it needs to eat. It collects energy and then turns it into food. That is a plant cell characteristic, but it can also eat other things. That is the characteristic of an animal cell. Euglena is a single cellular organism, but is that the best kind of organism, a multicellular organism could be the best kind of organism.

=What is Euglena?=  Euglena is a single cell organism that lives in mud or water, such as puddles, pools, and freshwater areas like lakes. It is a type of algae. Since it lives in water or mud, it can swim and crawl. It’s only job is to survive. Euglena has a short lifespan, about three weeks. this is because of the work overload and no protection.. Euglena comes from the Greek word ea, meaning good eye. Which refers to the red eye spot found near the flagellum. They also reproduce asexulay. This is by doing cell division.

 The way euglena reproduces is asexualy. Asexual reproduction is a way primary way single cell organisms reproduce.When this happens, multiple new cells come from a single organism. The new cells inherit the genes of the parent. The new cell is the exact replica of the parent. When the reproduction happens the cells don’t split equally in half. Asexual reproduction usually happens when there is a presence of chromosomes and nuclei in the offspring.

 Since euglena is a single cell organism it has a short life span. About three weeks. And in this time each euglena goes through three stages.One stage is when the euglena can swim freely, using it’s flagellum. There is the second stage, called the palmelloid stage,this is where the cell is non-motile. And the final stage of the eaglena’s life is the cyst stage. There are three parts to the cyst stage. There is protective, reproductive and temporary. The protective cyst is formed when food is limited. The reproductive stage happens when the cell is ready to do cell division. And the temporary cyst is the transition stage. This is when the euglena is still adapting.

=Euglena's Features=  Euglena is a pear shaped single cell organism. It’s green because of the green algae it eats. The green part of the body is where the chloroplast is. Since euglena usually lives in water, it has a flagellum. A flagellum is a tiny tail located at the end of the cell. The tail helps the euglena swim and move through water and mud. And located on the flagellum are tiny hairs that act like oars to help paddle through the water. Each euglena has a **contractile vacuole, flagellum, chloroplast, red eyespot, pellicle and nucleus. **

The euglena has many features. Lots of them are interesting and has a purpose. Some of them are: **contractile vacuole, flagellum, chloroplast, red eyespot, pellicle and nucleus**. The **flagellum** is a tail that helps the euglena paddle through water. The euglena has a **pellicle** that acts like a cell wall because the euglena don’t have a cell wall. A **contractile vacuole** is an indent that is able to contract to remove excess water that could in time explode without the contractile vacuole. The **chloroplast** is a part of euglena that turns energy into food when the euglena is autotroph. One of the most important parts of the euglena is the **nucleus**. The nucleus is like the brain of the whole cell. it has the DNA and control’s the cells activities. And final part of the euglena is the **red eyespot**. The red eyespot isn’t an actual eye but is used to track light. This eyespot is found near the flagellum. It is very important for the euglena, but every part of the euglena is important because every part is needed.

=Energy: How it Affects Euglena= Energy is a very important part of euglena’s lifestyle. It’s how euglena survives. As you heard earlier each euglena has a red eyespot. This helps it track light in water or mud. With the light it can makes it’s own food. It can do this with the help of chlorophyll. The chloroplast helps turn energy into food. This is when the euglena is an autotroph. Autotroph is when a cell can make it’s own food by turning energy into food. There is another condition that the euglena is called heterotroph. This is when the euglena gets food from other cells.

 When there is no light it turns heterotroph and gets food from ameba and paramecium. These are both single cell organisms. It only turns heterotroph under certain conditions. Euglena usually stay toward the top of water to collect sunlight. Without sunlight the chloroplast can’t make it’s own food. But when there is sunlight, the euglena make their food using chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a substance that plant cells contain to make their own food.

=Euglena: Plant or Animal Cell= Euglena can be both an animal and plant cell. It has characteristics that are both plant and animal cell. The euglena can be heterotroph or autotroph. It is usually autotroph. Heterotroph is an animal characteristic where it eats other things and doesn't produce its own food. Autotroph is an autotroph characteristic where it makes its own food. The euglena has both characteristics.

 When euglena is an autotroph it has to collect its own energy and turn it into food. The red eyespot helps track light to collect energy. When euglena is autotroph it stays toward the top of the pond. They turn the energy into food using photosynthesis. When there is no sunlight euglena turns to a heterotroph.

 When euglena is heterotroph it doesn’t make it’s own food and collects food from single cell organisms like paramecium and ameba. When euglena is heterotroph that is an animal cell characteristic. This only happens under certain conditions. Like when there is no sunlight the euglena is heterotroph. Some euglena are entirely heterotroph, which mean it completely relies on other organisms **. **

=Unicellular vs. Multicellular= Unicellular cells are a single cell. Since unicellular cells are a single cell, all of the cell body is exposed, which can then cause more injuries. When a unicellular cell is injured it then causes certain death because the cell is just one cell and there is no other cell to replace it if it dies. Even if the unicellular cell is not injured it still has a short lifespan due to work overload. Work overload means it is working too much.. This is because the unicellular cell does all the jobs and then gets tired because of all the jobs it has to do. and because of all the taxing work, it has a low degree of operational efficiency. This means that it handles stress badly. Altogether unicellular cells aren’t built as well as multicellular cells.

Multicellular cells have multiple cells in it. Since there are multiple cells, each cell has a specialized job, unlike the unicell which handles all the jobs. one of the specialized cells is the cell wall. It is built to withstand the outside, unlike the unicell. The multicell also lives longer because one cell is not handling all of the jobs. Not only does it live longer, but when one cell is injured another one will replace it when it dies. And it has a high degree of operational efficiency because there is less stress.

=Conclusion= <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Euglena is an interesting organism that is unique and reminds me of humans. It reminds me of humans because all it needs to do is survive. You will not find another cell or bacteria like it. It’s only job is to survive. No other cell or bacteria has that job. Euglena is interesting to learn about and I urge you to learn more about them. We can learn from euglena to not judge a book by its cover because you would think that being a small single cell organism, it wouldn’t be as capable as it is. It can turn energy into food, reproduce, it’s both a plant and animal cell and this is all inside a tiny single cell organism. =References= toc