Question

What is common for Cuscuta, ticks and leeches?
A. They are all autotrophs
B. They are all plants
C. They are all parasites
D. They are all animals

Answer 1

Hint: Leeches are the members of Phylum Annelida and ticks are the members of Phylum Arthropoda.
Cuscuta, ticks and leeches are ectoparasites.
In Cuscuta, haustoria are present through which it absorbs nutrients from the host organism.

Complete answer: The autotrophs are the living organisms which can synthesize their own food through the process of photosynthesis, in which green plants utilizes carbon dioxide and water to form carbohydrate and oxygen in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll pigment.

The parasites are the living organisms which completely depend upon the host organism for their food.

In order to solve this question, we need to know about Cuscuta, ticks and leeches.

Cuscuta is the genus of parasitic plants. These plants are ectoparasites and holoparasitic plants (a plant that is non-photosynthetic and is completely dependent on a host).
After attachment of Cuscuta to the host plant, it wraps itself around it. It produces haustoria that insert themselves into the vascular system of the host plant and absorbs carbohydrates and other substances.

Ticks are the members of Phylum Arthropoda of Kingdom Animalia. They are external parasites or ectoparasites. They feed upon the blood of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
After attachment of ticks to the host skin, they produce a hole in the host’s epidermis, into which it inserts its hypostome, through which it sucks the blood. Ticks also secrete an anticoagulant for preventing blood clotting.

Leeches are the member of Phylum Annelida of Kingdom Animalia. They are ectoparasites. They live in water and land and feed upon the blood of frogs, fishes, birds, humans, etc.
They feed upon the host organism with the help of suckers. They also secrete an anticoagulant for preventing clotting of blood.

Cuscuta is an ectoparasitic plant while ticks and leeches are ectoparasitic animals.

So, the correct answer is option C, they all are parasites.


Note: The ectoparasitic animals generally secretes an anticoagulant for preventing clotting of blood in the host organism.
Hirudin, an artificial anticoagulant, is obtained from the leeches.