Euglena gracilis

Euglena gracilis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Phylum: Euglenozoa
Class: Euglenida
Clade: Euglenophyceae
Order: Euglenales
Family: Euglenaceae
Genus: Euglena
Species:
E. gracilis
Binomial name
Euglena gracilis
Klebs, 1883

Euglena gracilis is a freshwater species of single-celled alga in the genus Euglena. It has secondary chloroplasts, and is a mixotroph able to feed by photosynthesis or phagocytosis. It has a highly flexible cell surface, allowing it to change shape from a thin cell up to 100 μm long to a sphere of approximately 20 μm. Each cell has two flagella, only one of which emerges from the flagellar pocket (reservoir) in the anterior of the cell, and can move by swimming, or by so-called "euglenoid" movement across surfaces. E. gracilis has been used extensively in the laboratory as a model organism, particularly for studying cell biology and biochemistry.[1]

Other areas of their use include studies of photosynthesis, photoreception, and the relationship of molecular structure to the biological function of subcellular particles, among others.[2] Euglena gracilis is the most studied member of the Euglenaceae.

E. gracilis was discovered as an effective bioindicator for phenol pollution in freshwater ecosystems and drainage.[3] Their brief generating duration and particular biological reactions make it optimal for measuring phenol concentrations in the natural environment.[3] The reported morphological abnormalities and unusual cell division reveal important information about the biological impacts of phenol on marine organisms. Using E. gracilis as a bioindicator can determine the level of phenol exposure in marine ecosystems and adopt appropriate mitigation actions to protect water quality and biodiversity.

  1. ^ Russell, A. G.; Watanabe, Y; Charette, JM; Gray, MW (2005). "Unusual features of fibrillarin cDNA and gene structure in Euglena gracilis: Evolutionary conservation of core proteins and structural predictions for methylation-guide box C/D snoRNPs throughout the domain Eucarya". Nucleic Acids Research. 33 (9): 2781–91. doi:10.1093/nar/gki574. PMC 1126904. PMID 15894796.
  2. ^ Wacker, Warren E. C. (1962-09-29). "Euglena: An Experimental Organism for Biochemical and Biophysical Studies". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 181 (13): 1150. doi:10.1001/jama.1962.03050390052015. ISSN 0098-7484.
  3. ^ a b Lukáčová, Alexandra; Lihanová, Diana; Beck, Terézia; Alberty, Roman; Vešelényiová, Dominika; Krajčovič, Juraj; Vesteg, Matej (2023-08-12). "The Influence of Phenol on the Growth, Morphology and Cell Division of Euglena gracilis". Life. 13 (8). MDPI AG: 1734. doi:10.3390/life13081734. ISSN 2075-1729. PMC 10455851.