Question

Define ingestion. How does ingestion occur in Amoeba?

Answer 1

Ingestion:

1. It is the process of taking in food through swallowing or absorbing.
2. An organism consumes a substance by ingestion.
3. It typically occurs in animals when a substance is ingested into the gastrointestinal tract through the mouth, such as through eating or drinking.
4. In single-celled organisms, ingestion occurs through the absorption of a substance into the cell membrane.

Ingestion in Amoeba:

1. Amoeba does not have any oral aperture.
2. Food is captured by finger-like extensions from the cell surface, called pseudopodia.
3. The process of ingestion of solid food particles in Amoeba is called phagocytosis (engulfing smaller organisms and organic matters).
4. The food gets enclosed in vesicles, called food vacuoles or phagosomes.