Unicellular organism free essay sample

For prison cell assignment, see Single-celling. Valonia ventricosa is among the largest unicellular species. A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that consists of only one cell, unlike a multicellular organism that consists of multiple cells. Historically the simple single celled organisms have sometimes been referred to as monads. l] The main groups of unicellular organisms are bacteria, archaea, protozoa, unicellular algae and nicellular fungi. Unicellular organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and eukaryotic organisms. unicellular organisms are believed to be the oldest form of life, possibly existing 3. 8 billion years ago. [2] Prokaryotes, most protists, and some fungi are unicellular. Although some of these organisms live in colonies, they are still unicellular. These organisms live together, and each cell in the colony is the same. However, each cell must carry out all life processes in order for that cell to survive. In contrast, even the simplest multicellular organisms have cells hat depend on each other in order to survive. We will write a custom essay sample on Unicellular organism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Some organisms are partially uni- and multicellular, like Dictyostelium discoideum. Other can be unicellular and multinucleate, like Myxogastria and Plasmodium. Candidatus Magnetoglobus multicellulars, related to Deltaproteobacteria, is a multicellular prokaryote. It is neither unicellular, nor a colony. Most unicellular organisms are of microscopic size and are thus classified as microorganisms. However, some unicellular protists and bacteria are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye. [3] Examples include: Xenophyophores, protozoans of the phylum Foraminifera, are the largest examples known, with Syringammina fragilissima achieving a diameter of up to 20 cm. [4] Nummulite, foraminiferans Valonia ventricosa, an alga of the class Chlorophyceae, can reach a diameter of 1 to 4 Acetabularia, algae. Caulerpa, algae[7] Gromia sphaerica, amoeba Thiomargarita namibiensis is the largest bacterium, reaching a diameter of up to 0. 75 mm. Epulopiscium fishelsoni, a bacterium. Drosophila Mirkogaster, an amoeba. Multicellular organism In this image, a wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans is stained to highlight the nuclei of ts cells. Multicellular organisms are organisms that consist of more than one cell, in contrast to single-celled organisms. To torm a multicellular organism, these cells need to identify and attach to the other cells. [l] Only a dozen or unicellular species have cells that can be seen individually with the naked eye. The rest of the nearly two million[citation needed] visible species are multicellular. In particular all species of animals, land plants and filamentous fungi are multicellular, as are many algae. Some organisms are partially uni- and multicellular, like Dictyostelium. Multicellular rganisms †like plants, animals and brown algae† arise from a single cell and generate a multi-celled organism. Pluricellular organisms are the result of many- celled individuals Joining together through colony formation, filament formation or aggregation. Pluricellularity has evolved independently in Volvox and some flagellated green algae. [2][3] Contents [hide] 1 Evolutionary history 2 Hypotheses for origin 2. 1 The symbiotic theory 2. 2 The cellularization (syncytial) theory 2. 3 The colonial theory 3 Advantages 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Evolutionary history[edit] Multicellularity has evolved independently at least 25 times,[4] including in some prokaryotes, like cyanobacteria, myxobacteria, actinomycetes, Magnetoglobus multicellulars or Methanosarcina. However, complex multicellular organisms evolved only in six eukaryotic groups: animals, fungi, brown algae, red algae, green algae, and plants. [5] It evolved repeatedly for plants (Chloroplastida), once or twice for animals, once for brown algae, and perhaps several times for fungi, slime molds, and red algae. [6] Multicellularity first appeared several billion years ago in cyanobacteria. In rder to reproduce, true multicellular organisms must solve the problem of regenerating a whole organism from germ cells (i. e. sperm and egg cells), an issue that is studied in developmental biology. Therefore, the development of sexual reproduction in unicellular organisms during the Mesoproterozoic is thought to have precipitated the development and rise of multicellular life. [citation needed] Multicellular organisms, especially long-living animals, also face the challenge of cancer, which occurs when cells fail to regulate their growth within the normal program of development. Changes in tissue morphology can be observed during this process. Multicellular vs Unicellular As the name suggests, the main difference between multicellular and unicellular organisms is the number of cells that are present in them. This leads to the development of all other characteristics and properties of these living organisms Every living thing has cells within their body, and these are the building blocks of all life forms. The composition, distribution and the number of cells that are present in an organism determine where it is multicellular or unicellular. Cells in the human ody play a vi tal role in the sustenance ot lite. In simple terms the difference between unicellular and multicellular organisms arises from the number of cells that are present in them. As the name suggests, unicellular organisms contain one single cell, while multicellular organisms contain more than one cell within them. All their physical characteristics and traits can be traced to this difference in the number of cells they contain. Unicellular Organisms Due to the presence of only one cell in them, these organisms are much smaller in size and are very simple in structure. Most of these organisms fall under the category of prokaryotes, or prokaryotic entities, because their composition and structure is not complex. The structure known as the cell nucleus is completely absent in these prokaryotes, and this leads to their inability to handle their surface area to volume ratios. Owing to this reason, their sizes are very small. Most unicellular organisms are so small and microscopic in nature, that they are almost invisible to the naked human eyes. They do not have internal organs as well, and this means that the membranes which are organic coats around the organs are lso absent. Due to their highly simplistic life form, these can exist in areas that are perceived to be hazardous for human life and are highly acidic or radioactive in nature. It is believed by many scientists that the human race is the result of long term evolution of many unicellular organisms that existed millions of years ago. The two sets of organisms exist in harmony with each other on our planet, and all these organisms have their own specific roles to play in natures ecosystem. Examples: All forms of bacteria, amoeba, yeast and paramecium. Multicellular Organisms On the other hand, these organisms are those forms of life that have more than one cell present in them. In fact they have millions of cells present in them. The larger number of cells means that these organisms are much bigger in size and are very complex and intricate in their composition and structure. Human beings are the best example of multicellular organisms, and the large number of cells leads to the birth of many different organs for carrying out different functions. Most eukaryotes or eukaryotic entities are multicellular. The cell nuclei are present in eukaryotes and the DNA of the organisms are separately placed, unlike the case of unicellular organisms. All these cells work in tandem with each other to keep the life form alive, and this leads to a variety of complex functions working simultaneously. The organisms in both the categories differ greatly in their appearance, and even though multicellular organisms grow to large sizes some of them are still microscopic in nature. These are also known as myxozoa. Examples: Human beings, animals, plants, myxozoa and all kinds of fungi. Scientists discovered all the differences between multicellular organisms and unicellular organisms and this laid the foundation for the rest of biology to develop. The advanced study of the structure of all animals and plants would not be impossible without proper knowledge about the cell structure of these organisms, since the cells are the primary life force and no organism can be alive without the presence of cells in them. The desire to know the differences between organisms is an important event in human history, and medical science would not be where it is today without this discovery.