5 Facts On contractile Vacuole In Euglena

Contractile vacuole does a pumping job in which it pumps out excess water from the cell to the outside. Let us see about contractile vacuole in Euglena in detail.

The contractile vacuole in euglena is also called the contractile vacuole complex which aids in the maintenance of the tonicity of the cell. Euglena is a single celled, photosynthetic organism. This vacuole is of great use for euglena to work on tonicity.

Let us discuss how contractile vacuoles are formed in euglena, what their functions are, where they are specifically located in euglena and many other related questions in this article.

Where are contractile vacuoles found in euglena?

The contractile vacuole is oval in shape. Let us see where they are located inside euglena.

The contractile vacuole in euglena is present near the flagellum (but not in all cases). It is seen in the anterior part of euglena which is primarily fixed.

The absence of contractile vacuole complex will lead to an increase in the mass of the cell ( in which the water is completely filled inside the cell) and eventually it will burst out at any moment leading to expiration.

How are contractile vacuoles formed in euglena?

Each and every organelle is inter connected and will be mostly formed from other internal organelle. Let us discuss how contractile vacuole is formed in euglena.

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Image Credits: Contractile Vacuole by Deuterostome (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

Contractile vacuole complexes in euglena are formed by the fusion or the blending of other organelles inside the cell. It is not mandatory that all cells must have this organelle inside them. It maintains the water balance of the cell and this is why it is called the osmo-regulatory organelle.

The mechanism is performed in a periodic fashion in which the water collection (expansion) and water release (contraction) is done.

Contractile vacuole functions in euglena

The function of the contractile vacuole complex in euglena and other free living protozoans are the same and is explicitly given below.

  • The contractile vacuole works as an osmosis-regulatory part or organelle according to a research paper in NCBI.
  • The contractile vacuole organelle maintains the water balance inside the cell letting the water which is excess, inside the cell to expel out to maintain tonicity.
  • The contractile vacuole is completely filled with water and it aids in the locomotion and dragging of the organism from one place to another.

Contractile vacuole structure in euglena

The structure of contractile vacuole in euglena is simple and easy. Let us have a deeper look.

  • Ideally, the contractile vacuole in euglena can be observed with a discharging tubule which has a discharge pore for water expulsion, a feeding canal, an ampulla and a tubule of injection.
  • The outer layer of the contractile vacuole is the cell membrane which aids in the protection and rigidity.
  • The right next to the cell membrane is the portion in which the water expulsion mechanism works.
  • The first region is where the excess water enters through the pores due to osmosis.
  • The swelling process takes place and eventually the structure of contractile vacuole is dissociated.
  • The contractile vacuole moves to the edge of the cell and thus bursts out and expel the excess/ surplus water and the cycle repeats back.

The structure of contractile vacuole is unpredictable as it is completely based or depends on the amount of water that has entered into the cell.

Conclusion:

The article exhaustively discuss the location, function and structure of contractile vacuole present in euglena. The article showcases the effects that happens to the cell if the contractile vacuole complex is not present and a brief explanation can be seen of the unpredicted structure of the contractile vacuole.

Read more about contractile Vacuole In Amoeba and contractile Vacuole In Euglena.

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