Amoeba proteus


Amoeba proteus , of which Chaos diffluens is one of many synonyms, is a large amoeba related to another genus of giant amoebae, Chaos. It can be bought at science supply stores.
This protozoon uses extensions called pseudopodia to move and to eat smaller unicellular organisms. Food is enveloped inside the cell's cytoplasm in a food vacuole, where they are slowly broken down by enzymes. Amoeba proteus is very well known for its extending pseudopodia. It occupies freshwater environments and feeds on other protozoans, algae, rotifers, and even other smaller amoebae. A. proteus is colourless, but may have coloured inclusions derived from its food.
A. proteus possesses a thick-walled nucleus containing granular chromatin, and is therefore a eukaryote. Its membrane includes a phospholipid bilayer similar to other eukaryotic organisms.

History

The first description of this amoeba is probably that of August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof who, in 1755, published drawings of an amoeboid protozoan he called the "little Proteus". Subsequently, various authors assigned Rösel's organism and other amoeboid protozoa various names: Carl Linnaeus termed Rösel's organism Chaos protheus in 1758. Otto Friedrich Müller referred to it as Proteus diffluens in 1786. In 1878, Joseph Leidy proposed the current name Amoeba proteus to describe Rösel's Proteus, Proteus diffluens, and another described amoeba Amoeba princeps.

Reproduction

Although Amoeba proteus has most of the key proteins associated with sexual processes no evidence of meiosis or sexual activity has been reported.

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