Amoeba Facts

A microscopic unicellular organism which belongs to the Ameobozoa kingdom, 'amoeba', was discovered in 1757 by August Johann Rosel von Rosenhof from Germany. Naturalists of earlier times named the amoeba after the Greek god, Proteus who was capable of changing his shape. The word 'amibe', which means 'change' in Greek was used to denote the amoeba by Bory de Saint-Vincent. One can say that amoebas are omnipresent because they thrive well in soil, water and also in body parts of animals. The different amoeba facts presented below, would help in understanding these creatures in a better manner.

The amoebas don't have a fixed body-shape and they appear to be like blobs of jelly-like substance. By constantly changing its body shape, the amoeba creates body extensions known as pseudopods which help in locomotion. Amoeba can also gather food by means of these pseudopods. The process through which food is consumed by amoeba is known as phagocytosis. The important body components of these unicellular organisms are nucleus, cytoplasm and the vacuole. The amoeba classification can be better understood with the help of following table.

Kingdom - Protist

Phylum - Protozoa

Class - Sarcodina

Sub-Class - Rhizopoda

Order - Amoebida

Family - Amoebidae

Genus - Amoeba

Species - proteus, animalcule, dubia, etc.

Facts about Amoeba
The facts mentioned below provide us with information about different characteristics of amoeba cells. These facts also present information about the pathogenic nature of amoeba.

• The process of breathing in amoeba takes place through cell membrane.
• The diet of amoebas include bacteria, metozoa, protozoa, plant cells, etc.
• Digestion of food in amoebas takes place in vacuoles.
• The contractile vacuoles perform the job of removal/excretion of water and waste materials from the body.
• The amoeba reproduction is asexual in nature. Process of asexual reproduction in amoeba is known as binary fission.
• Important marine amoebas include the Vannella and Platyamoeba. The different areas in which these amoeba are found include fronds of seaweeds, coastal rockpools and even open spaces of the sea.
• The places rich in organic matter are known to contain high amount of amoeba.
• The most common pathogenic amoeba include Entamoeba histolytica, Acanthamoeba, Balamuthia, Naegleria fowleri and Hartmannella.
• Some of the pathogenic bacteria use body of amoebas to thrive and multiply.
• The amoeba is known to have a large genome. There are 290 base pairs present in genome of the species, Amoeba protea.
• Contact with dilute or saline water creates excessive osmotic pressure and affects the amoeba. The cell of amoeba prevents salt influx when it comes in contact with saline water. This results into the cell becoming isotonic; it causes the cell to shrink further.

Amoeba Interesting Facts
Here are some of the interesting facts about amoeba.

• As the amoeba consumes food, its (prey) can stay alive for a while.
• To prevent cannibalism, the amoeba secretes a chemical which keeps other amoebas away. This type of chemical secretion can also protect the amoeba from predators.
• The Pelomyxa palustris is the largest of all amoebas that are found in pond water.
• The amoebas are mostly known as pathogens. However, it is interesting to know that most of the amoebas recovered or obtained from the environment by scientists are non-pathogenic.

The amoeba are one of organisms that infest almost all the places of this planet. With this, I sum up the article, hoping, the information and interesting amoeba facts mentioned above would prove to be useful for the readers.