Question

Mode of nutrition in Paramecium is-
A. Holophytic
B. Holozoic
C. Saprophytic
D. Saprozoic

Answer 1

Hint: To meet the needs of the body, everyone requires food. Different types of organisms obtain food through different types of processes and they are named according to that respective process they take food through. Paramecium is a protista which is found in aquatic habitats. They belong to the group of unicellular ciliates, and they feed on organisms like bacteria, yeasts and algae.

Complete answer:
-Paramecium is an organism of aquatic life. They are the single-celled “protists”. They are slippered like an elongated organism, covered with short hair-like structures known as “Cilia”. They serve the purpose of being a model organism for scientists. Paramecium survives through heterotrophy. It feeds on small organisms such as endosymbiotic algae, bacteria and yeast.
-Cilia help in the movement of the organism to gather food. Cilia grabs onto its prey with the help of cilia along with some water. The food passes from cilia to an organ called “buccal cavity”. From there, food passes into the cytostome which acts as a cell mouth. Now, through the cytostome, the food finally enters into the food vacuole of the cell. Food vacuole in Paramecium is closed and exported to the cytoplasm, from where they began to circulate in the organism’s cell. When food vacuoles move around in the cytoplasm, enzymes through cytoplasm enters the vacuole and digests the food. This digestion of the food results in a drop of pH level from seven to three.
-When food digests completely, the vacuole shrinks and expels out the nutrients into the cytoplasm and carries waste materials inside it. This shrunk vacuole is now sent to the anal pore, where it burst and throws out all of the waste material outside the body of Paramecium. As we just observed, Paramecium ingests the solid or liquid organic material and digest it, along with the absorption of nutrients and assimilation of the waste products. This type of mode of nutrition is named as “Holozoic Mode of Nutrition”.
-Whereas, Holophytic mode of nutrition involves the preparation of food with the help of photosynthesis.
-Saprophytic or Saprozoic is the mode of nutrition exhibited by organisms who feed on the dead and decaying matter to survive.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: Paramecium belongs to the phylum “Ciliophora” and they exhibit hair-like structures known as “Cilia”. Cilia are responsible for the movements done by these organisms and they also help the organism in the gathering of food. Because this organism multiplies fast and can be cultivated very easily, they are used by scientists as a “Model Organism” to study the biological processes. Scientists also gave the name “White rat of Ciliophora” to this particular organism for the same reason.