Question

Euglena stores food in the form of paramylum (beta 1-3 glucan) which is the conversion product of
A.Starch
B.Fructose
C.Hyaluronic acid
D.Pectin

Answer 1

Euglena produces food by the process of photosynthesis and stores their food in the form of paramylum. It is a form of carbohydrate and they use this stored food whenever needed.

Complete answer: Euglena are single-celled eukaryotic organisms that belong to the group euglenoids. Most of these are found in stagnant water. These organisms do not have a cell wall. Instead, they have a protein-rich outer covering called a pellicle. This substance makes the body of euglenoids flexible in nature. They are biflagellate, having two unequal flagella. One is short and the other is a long one.
Euglenoids are photosynthetic organisms that can prepare their own food with the help of sunlight. Know that they can also prepare food in the absence of sunlight by feeding on smaller organisms. They are able to perform photosynthesis as their pigments are similar present in higher plants.
Paramylum is a form of carbohydrate that is similar to starch in nature. Euglena stores food in the form of paramylum and also starch granules.
Pectin is a polysaccharide that is present in the plant cell wall. It is used for the preparation of jellies. It is present along with cellulose in the plant cell wall which also is a polysaccharide. We make paper from plant pulp and it is also cellulosic. Cotton fiber also contains cellulose. It is a homopolymer and its individual units are made up of glucose. Humans don’t have the ability to digest cellulose, but animals have developed mechanisms for their digestion. Starch also is made up of glucose but it differs from cellulose in their bonding between individual glucose units. In starch, glucose molecules are linked by alpha linkage while in cellulose it is beta linkage.
Hence the correct option is A.

Note: We know that depending on the individual units of a polysaccharide, they are of two types. They are homopolymers and heteropolymers. Homopolymers are made up of same individual units linked together and heteropolymers have different individual units.