Color the pellicle blue. In the center of the cell is the nucleus, which contains the cell's DNA and controls the cell's activities. The nucleolus can be seen within the nucleus. Color the nucleus purple, and the nucleolus pink. The interior of the cell contains a jelly-like fluid substance called cytoplasm. Color the cytoplasm light yellow. Some close relatives of Euglena include the causal organism for sleeping sickness and for Chagas disease. Complicating their taxonomy is the fact that some in the group are clearly composite organisms, being the product of secondary endosymbiosis when a green algal was consumed but not digested by a flagellate.
Photosynthetic forms contain a chloroplast. They possess two flagellae, one long, one short, which can allow the organisms to move. Euglena are also able to move by means of changing its shape see video links. Outside the cell membrane is a flexible, protein-based structure called a pellicle. Interestingly, they also possess an eye-spot, which contains a rhodopsin-like protein not hugely dissimilar to the ones we use to see. 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.
Tesselated Darter. Common Duckweed. Mallard C. Eastern Lamp Mussel. Yellow Pond Lily. Canada Goose C. Water Flea.
Great Blue Heron C. Common Cattail. Hydrilla EC. Wood Frog. Lizard's Tail. Greater Bladderwort SP. Eastern Newt.
Tussock Sedge.
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