Behavior and Movement of Protists

― Survival Strategies of Unicellular Eukaryotes ―

Abstract

Unicellular eukaryotes, known as protists, are responsible for the diversity of eukaryotes. Protists are known to influence the environment through energy loops. In this process, the distribution of protists is one of the crucial factors. The behavior of individual protists makes the distribution of them. Protists behave in response to their extracellular environment. This behavior makes the distribution of protists. In this paper, I review our recent studies on the behavior and locomotion of protists, including the accumulation of ciliates on the wall, near-wall rheotaxis behavior of a ciliate, cellular membrane dynamics of amoeba, recognition of extracellular shapes by a ciliate, and building behavior of a tested amoeba. Studying the diverse behaviors and movements of these protists may, in addition to shedding light on the unique behavioral mechanisms of protists, lead to the development of methods applied to other cells in multicellular organisms.