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Euglena Gracilis

Algae and Protists

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Euglena gracilis is a freshwater species of euglenid, a microscopic type of algae in the genus Euglena. It carries secondary chloroplasts and is a mixotroph, able to feed either by photosynthesis or by phagocytosis. Its highly flexible cell surface lets it change shape from a thin cell up to 100 micrometers long to a sphere of about 20 micrometers, and it moves by swimming with its flagella or by a distinctive gliding motion across surfaces called euglenoid movement. It has been used extensively in laboratories as a model organism for studying cell biology and biochemistry.

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