Question

The digestive enzymes secreted in the food vacuole helps in
A. Locomotion
B. Engulfment of food particle
C. Digestion of complex food material into simpler ones
D. None of the above

Answer 1

Food vacuole” is one of the more complicated terms to research – because there are two different definitions of this term in common use. Some scientists refer to a “food vacuole” as any large sac inside a cell that contains food for the cell; vacuoles are used to store cellular fuel by some cells in animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms.

Complete answer:
-Locomotion of food is carried out by the process called peristalsis, in which muscles of the GI tract enable the walls to move and this movement pushes food through the GI tract.
-Food vacuoles are membrane-bound sacs within a cell, which contain food matter to be digested. These can be thought of as intracellular “stomachs,” where food is stored while it is broken down and its nutrients are extracted.
-Solid particles are engulfed by phagocytosis ("cell eating"), a process that begins when solids make contact with the outer cell surface, triggering the movement of the membrane.
-To begin the cellular “eating” process, the cell membrane curves to envelope a particle of food. When the cell membrane has enveloped the food completely, it “pinches off,” moving the food fully inside the cell.
-The membrane surrounding the food particle is now a “vacuole” – a large membrane-bound sac within the cell.
-Food vacuoles circulate in the cytoplasm by streaming movements. The prey can be killed and digested with the help of the digestive enzymes secreted by the food vacuole. The diffusible substances resulting from the process of digestion are utilized in synthesizing more protoplasm. They are also stored as reserved food.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: Amoebas take in nutrients via phagocytosis and pinocytosis. Phagocytosis is what occurs when an amoeba surrounds a solid food particle with its pseudopods to form a vacuole (known as a phagosome) in which digestion of the food particle then occurs.