Question

Describe the process of respiration in Amoeba. State whether it is anaerobic respiration or aerobic respiration.

Answer 1

Hint: In amoeba, respiration occurs through its cell membrane which is also known as the plasma membrane. Amoeba is a unicellular organism building in stagnant water.

Complete answer:
Amoeba acquires ${ O }_{ 2 }$ dissolved in surrounding water by its plasma membrane by the action of diffusion. The ${ O }_{ 2 }$ diffused inside the body is consumed by the amoeba. In the body, the ${ O }_{ 2 }$ absorbed is used to convert the complex food particles into simple ones. During these metabolic reactions in the body of amoeba, the ${ O }_{ 2 }$ is converted into ${ CO }_{ 2 }$. The ${ CO }_{ 2 }$ is also released in the surrounding water by the same process of diffusion.
Since amoeba requires oxygen for respiration, the type of respiration occurring in Amoeba is ‘aerobic respiration’.

Additional Information: Features of Amoeba:
-They are tiny, eukaryotes whose bodies comprise a single cell.
-The cells of amoebae have certain characteristic features like the other eukaryotes.
-They continuously change their body shape because of amoeboid movement.
-Many amoebas are non-dangerous, but some are pathogenic and can cause diseases.
-They secrete digestive enzymes that run into the food vacuoles and digest the molecules.
-Under appropriate conditions, amoebas divide by binary fission to make two daughter amoebas.
-When dividing artificially, the part having the nucleus creates a new cell membrane and becomes a whole animal, while the other part ultimately dies.
So, the correct answer is ‘Aerobic respiration’.

Note: -Amoeba was discovered by August Johann Rosel von Rosenhof in the year 1757 in Germany. Amoebas are omnipresent as they flourish in soil, water, and body parts of the animals.
-They locomote with the aid of a finger-like projection called pseudopodia. These pseudopodia also help in swallowing their prey with pseudopodia and make food vacuoles.