Ciliates

Ciliates are a group of organisms that belong to the kingdom Protozoa. These are single-celled organisms capable of moving and feeding independently. They are presented in two main forms - non-sedimentary and sedimentary. A ciliate is a unicellular multicellular organism. The cell wall is covered with cilia - hairs that help to move. These multicellular organisms range in size from 4 to 26 microns. Cells can be of different sizes depending on the species. These protozoa make up more than 5 thousand species, of which about 3 thousand belong to the class Mastigophora. Among them there are both free-living ciliates and predatory, parasitic ones that have a certain form of movement. Representatives of the ciliate class have one of the most complex molecular mechanisms that perform the function of separating feces from other cell contents. An example of such species is Plasmodium falciparum.