The World of the Protista
Complicated Little Guys
PowerPoint Adapted from Judy Jones at
https://sites.google.com/a/jonesbiology.com/home/
Characteristics of Kingdom Protista
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Very diverse
Eukaryotic
Mostly unicellular
Live everywhere
Mostly
microscopic
Monera
Classification of Protists
• Animal-like protists (protozoans)
Zooflagellates
Sarcodines
Ciliates
Sporozoans
Zooflagellates
• Swim using
flagella
• Absorb food
through cell
membrane
• Asexual and
sexual
Sarcodines
Click to See Amoeba in Motion
• Move and eat by
PSEUDOPODIA –
false feet –
cytoplasm
projections
• Form food vacuoles
• Reproduce by
mitosis and
cytokinesis
Foramnifera – have Calcium Carbonate
– White Cliffs of Dover
Ciliates
Click to see stalked ciliate
Click to compare flagella
and cilia
• Move with hair like
projections called cilia
• Use trichocysts for defense
• Gullet and contractile
vacuole
• Macronuclei and micronuclei
• Reproduce by conjugation
and then mitosis
Sporozoans
• Do not move on
their own
• Parasitic (cause Malaria)
• Complex life cycles
• Malaria has a
vector - mosquito
Plasmodium – a sporozoan in
blood – causes MALARIA
Table 22-3 Diseases Caused by Protists
Diseases
Symptoms
Protist
Transmission
Amoebic dysentary
Bloody diarrhea,
vomiting, stomach
pain, fever
Entamoeba histolytica
Contaminated food /
water
Giardiasis
Cramps, nausea,
diarrhea, vomiting
Giardia Lamblia
Contaminated food /
water
African Sleeping
sickness
Fever, weakness,
lethargy
Trapanysoma
Bite from infected
tsetse fly
Malaria
Fever, chills, sweats
Plasmodium species
Bite from infected
mosquito
Toxoplasmosis
Primary danger is
fetal infection:
convulsions, brain
damage, blindness,
death
Toxoplasma gondii
Contact with infected
cats or improperly
cooked meat
The Good Guys
Click here to see trichonympha
• Trichonympha – lives in gut of termite –
digests cellulose into glucose
Classification, con’t
• Plant like protists - Unicellular
Euglenophytes
Chrysophytes
Diatoms
Dinoflagellates
• Algaes – Multicellular
Red Algae
Green Algae
Brown Algae
Euglenophytes
Click Here to see a Euglena Party
• Live as autotrophs in light, as
heterotrophs in dark
• Eyespot helps find light
• Pellicle – fancy cell membrane
• Reproduce by binary fission
Chrysophytes
• Golden Algae
• Store food as oil
rather than starch
• Sexual and
asexual
Diatoms - Bacillariophyta
• Cell walls rich
in silicon
• Two pieces
like a petri
dish
• Used in
toothpastes,
filters, road
paint,
abrasives
Dinoflagellates
• Some autotrophic,
some heterotrophic
• Can luminesce – Red
Tides- toxic
The Algaes
• Red, Brown and Green
• Have different proportions of chlorophylls
• Brown Algaes are the giant kelps
(Example: Sargassum)
• Red Algaes important in coral reefs
• Green algae most like plants- found all
over – fresh and salt water
Algae
Ecology
• 50% of photosynthesis on Earth from
phytoplankton
• Important in Ecosystems
• Algae Blooms can deplete resources and
disrupt equilibrium
Human Uses of Algae
• FOOD
• Treating ulcers, high blood pressure,
arthritis
• Products used in ice cream, pudding, etc.
• Chemicals used to make plastics, paints,
etc.
• Agar for growing bacteria
Classification, con’t
• Fungus-Like Protists
Slime molds
Water molds
Obtain energy by decomposing organic
molecules
Slime molds
Click to see slime mold