The Amoeba is a unicellular unicellular organism that lives in water and wet soil.
The term "amoeba" refers to simple eukaryotic organisms that move in a characteristic crawling fashion. However, a comparison of the genetic content of the various amoebae shows that these organisms are not necessarily closely related.
Cell structure
All living organisms can be broadly divided into two groups — prokaryotes and eukaryotes — which are distinguished by the relative complexity of their cells. In contrast to prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells are highly organized. Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotes, while all other living organisms are eukaryotes.
Amoebae are eukaryotes whose bodies most often consist of a single cell. The cells of amoebae, like those of other eukaryotes, possess certain characteristic features. Their cytoplasm and cellular contents are enclosed within a cell membrane. Their DNA is packaged into a central cellular compartment called the nucleus. Finally, they contain specialized structures called organelles, which execute a range of cellular functions including energy production and protein transport.
Most of these organelles are common to all eukaryotic cells, however there are a few exceptions. For example, the parasite Entamoeba histolytica, which causes amoebic dysentery in humans, does not have the golgi apparatus, the organelle responsible for modifying and transporting proteins. Instead, according to a 2005 article published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Entamoeba histolytica contain golgi-like compartments or vesicles that execute similar functions. Sutherland Maciver, a reader in the department of biomedical sciences at the University of Edinburgh noted that there are amoebae, which do not have mitochondria (the organelle responsible for generating cellular energy) because they live in environments lacking in oxygen, or "anoxic conditions. " According to a 2014 review published in the journal Biochemie, such organisms can contain organelles like hydrogenosomes or mitosomes, which are related to mitochondria and are thought to be highly altered versions of the same. This is the case for Entamoeba histolytica and a free-living amoeba, Mastigamoeba balamuthi.