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Chapter 24. Protists. Kingdom Protista “Simple” eukaryotes Mostly unicellular Some form colonies Some are coenocytic Multiple nuclei in one mass of cytoplasm A few are multicellular. Most protists live in aquatic environments Sixty major groups of protists Important in the biosphere
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Chapter 24 Protists
Kingdom Protista • “Simple” eukaryotes • Mostly unicellular • Some form colonies • Some are coenocytic • Multiple nuclei in one mass of cytoplasm • A few are multicellular
Most protists live in aquatic environments • Sixty major groups of protists • Important in the biosphere • Food for other organisms • Photosynthetic protists supply oxygen
Locomotion • Pseudopodia • Flagella • Cilia • A few are nonmotile • Modes of nutrition • Autotrophs • Heterotrophs
Interactions with other organisms • Free-living • Mutualism • Commensalism • Parasitism • Habitats • Most live in the ocean or freshwater ponds, lakes, and streams • Parasites live in host’s bodily fluids
Modes of reproduction • Many protists reproduce both sexually and asexually • Syngamy (union of gametes) • Some protists are solely asexual
Endosymbiont theory • Certain organelles arose from symbiosis with prokaryotes • Mitochondria arose from aerobic eubacteria • Chloroplasts arose from cyanobacteria
Classifying eukaryotes • Ultrastructure • Fine details of cell structure • Molecular data • Ribosomal RNA • Nuclear genes • The protist kingdom is probably paraphyletic
Zooflagellates • Mostly unicellular heterotrophs • Move using flagella • Now separated into several monophyletic groups • Excavates • Discicristates
Excavates live in oxygen-free environments • Diplomonads • No mitochondria • No Golgi complex • One or two nuclei • Up to eight flagella • Giardia is a parasite
Discicristates have disc-shaped mitochondrial cristae • Euglenoids • About 1/3 are photosynthetic • Inhabit freshwater ponds and puddles • Trypanosoma causes African sleeping sickness
Alveolates have flattened vesicles under the plasma membrane • Ciliates • Move by hairlike cilia • Micronuclei for sexual reproduction • Macronuclei control metabolism • Reproduce sexually by conjugation
Alveolates • Dinoflagellates • Mostly unicellular with two flagella • Mostly photosynthetic • Apicomplexans • Parasitic • Spore-forming • Plasmodium causes malaria
Heterokonts are motile with two different kind of flagella • Water molds • Mycelium absorbs organic material • Reproduce asexually with biflagellate zoospores • Reproduce sexually with oospores • Phytophthora causes plant diseases
Mycelium around a dead insect Saprolegnia
Heterokonts • Diatoms • Mostly unicellular with shells containing silica • Some diatoms are part of plankton • Golden algae • Mostly unicellular, biflagellate algae • Both freshwater and marine
Heterokonts • Brown algae • Multicellular seaweed • Ecologically important in cooler ocean waters • Kelps have leaflike blades, stemlike stipes, anchoring holdfasts, gas-filled bladders
Cercozoa are amoeboid cells that often have hard outer shells, called tests, through which cytoplasmic projections extend
Cercozoa • Foraminferans • Many-chambered tests with pores • Cytoplasmic extensions to move and obtain food • Actinopods • Mostly marine plankton • Axopods to obtain food
Plants have chloroplasts bounded by inner and outer membranes • Land plants, red algae, and green algae are monophyletic • Red algae and green algae are in kingdom Protista
Red algae are mostly multicellular seaweeds • Ecologically important in warm tropical waters • Red algae with calcium carbonate in their cell walls are important for reef building
Green algae are diverse in size, structural complexity, and reproduction • May be the ancestors of land plants • Multicellular forms do not have cells differentiated into tissues, unlike plants
Amoebas move and obtain food using cytoplasmic extensions called pseudopodia • Capture and engulf food by surrounding it and forming a vacuole around it • Entamoeba histolytica causes amoebic dysentery
Plasmoidal slime mold • Feeding stage is a multinucleate plasmodium that extends up to one foot in diameter • In the reproductive stage, stalks called sporangia produce haploid spores
Cellular slime molds • Feeding stage is individual amoeboid cells • During moisture or food shortage, they aggregate into a migrating pseudoplasmodium • Forms stalked fruiting body containing spores