Paramecium bursaria

Phylum: Ciliophora

Class: Oligohymenophorea

Order: Peniculida

Family: Parameciidae

Genus: Paramecium

Species: P. bursaria

 

Paramecium bursaria is a species of ciliate found in marine and brackish waters. It has a mutualistic endosymbiotic relationship with green algae called Zoochlorella. About 700 Chlorella cells live inside the protist's cytoplasm and provide it with food, while the Paramecium provides the algae with movement and protection. P. bursaria is 80–150 μm long, with a wide oral groove, two contractile vacuoles, and a single micronucleus as well as a single macronucleus. P. bursaria is the only species of Paramecium that forms symbiotic relationships with algae, and it is often used in biology classrooms both as an example of a protozoan and also as an example of symbiosis.

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Uploaded on February 14, 2025
Taken on February 15, 2021