English: Temporally alternating life cycles of unicellular holozoans. Putative life stages of the pluriformean Syssomonas multiformis. A swimming flagellated cell can temporarily attach to the substrate through the anterior part of the cell body or move to the bottom and transform to an amoeboflagellate form by producing both wide lobopodia and thin short filopodia. Flagellated cells can lose the flagellum via different modes and transition into an amoeba stage, which produces thin, relatively short filopodia. Both amoeboflagellate and amoeba stages can transition back to the flagellate stage. Amoeboid cells can also encyst by retracting their filopodia and rounding the cell body. Palintomic divisions may occur in the cystic stage to release several flagellated daughter cells. Flagellated cells can partially merge and form temporary shapeless cell aggregates of both flagellated or non-flagellated cells and rosette-like colonies composed by only flagellated cells (showing outwards-directed flagella). In rich medium, solitary flagellated cells can sometimes actively merge and form a syncytium-like structure, which undergoes budding and releases flagellated daughter cells.