Question

Proterospongia has
(a) Choanocytes
(b) Amoeboid cells
(c) Both A and B
(d) Mastigamoeba like cells

Answer 1

Hint: They are a genus of single-celled aquatic organisms that form colonies. They are a taxonomic classification of colonial Codonosigidae choanoflagellates that supported the physical appearance of individual cells and the morphology of the colony.

Complete answer:
Proterospongia has choanocytes and amoeboid cells. Proterospongia is an infrequent freshwater protist, a colonial member of the Choanoflagellates. It consists of a variety of cells embedded during a jelly-like matrix. Interestingly, it shows a really primitive level of cell differentiation or specialization for various roles. The flagellated cells with the collar structures move the colony by the water, while the amoeboid cells on the inside split up into new cells then assist the colony growth. Sponges even have a low degree of cell differentiation, with collar cells and amoeboid cells arranged during a gelatinous matrix. However, sponges produce other sorts of cells, and their choanocytes beat within canals on the within of the sponge to tug water through the sponge, whereas Proterospongia pulls itself through the water with its collar cells on the surface, and it lacks internal canals.

Additional information: Proterospongia itself is not the ancestor of sponges. However, it is a useful model for what the ancestors of sponges and other metazoans may be like. Yet, the similarities between Proterospongia and sponges are powerful evidence for the close relationship between choanoflagellates and animals. Proterospongia species are distinguished through colony morphology, which differs from simple chains of cells to striking astral assemblages.
So, the correct answer is ‘(c) Both A and B’.

Note: Proterospongia is a colony-forming choanoflagellate, interested in scientists studying the mechanisms of intercellular signaling and adhesion present before animals emerge. First described by Kent in Manual of the Infusoria (1880-1882), there are six well-known species of Proterospongia and the colony structure differs between species. The members of the Proterospongia genus stay to be arranged in a phylogenetic framework.