17 interesting facts you probably didn't know about Amoeba

A type of unicellular organism, amoeba holds some amazing facts that will completely blow your mind.

Amoeba is defined as "a single-celled animal that catches food and moves about by extending fingerlike projections of protoplasm". Belongs to the amoebidae family, amoeba is a special type of protozoa which consists of cytoplasm (a basic cellular fluid which has two forms: ectoplasm and endoplasm). Here, we have gathered 17 interesting and fun facts about amoeba that you probably didn't know.

1. August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof, a German naturalist, entomologist and miniature painter, first discovered amoeba in the year 1755. He named this organism 'The little Proteus' after the Greek God Proteus.
2. Plasmasol and plasmagel are respectively the liquid and solid state of an amoeba.
3. The word 'amoeba' comes from the Greek word 'amoibe' ('to change').
4. Bacteria, plant cells, metazoa, algae, protozoa etc are some of the most common food items for amoebas.
5. The amoeba has an extremely large genome which contains 290 base pairs.
6. Keeping amoebas in a laboratory is easy. This is why scientists often use them to study cell structure and protozoa.
7. Amoebas don't possess any fixed body shape. In fact, they constantly change their body shape while moving and this helps them to capture their foods.
8. Amoebas have pseudopods or false legs which they use to move and also, hunt their prey. Pseudopods maintain the mobility of the amoeba.
9. Entamoeba histolytica, Balamuthia, Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba are some of the most common pathogenic amoebas found on earth.
10. An amoeba is composed of a single granular nucleus which contains the maximum genetic material of the organism.
11. When startled, an amoeba changes its body into a star shape.
12. Amoebas use a contractile vacuole to remove excess water from the cells and maintain osmotic equilibrium.
13. Amoeba naegleria, a species of amoeba found in warm fresh water, is known as the brain-eating amoeba. If one is infected with this, then it will kill all the brain tissues and lead them to death.
14. Pelomyxa Palustris, a species of amoeba, can grow up to 5 mm.
15. Amoebas don't have any stomach. They use the cell vacuoles to digest their foods. Some of these vacuoles also help in the process of excretion.
16. The reproduction process of amoebas is asexual. Through a process called binary fission, the amoeba creates two nuclei and splits itself into two.
17. Chaos carolinense, Amoeba proteus and Naegleria fowleri are some of the most well-known amoeba species which are being studied in the laboratories.

So, which fact amazed you the most?