Protists & Fungi

Protist

A eukaryotic organism that cannot be classified as an animal, plant, or fungus.

Kingdom Fungi

Kingdom composed of heterotrophs; many obtain energy and nutrients from dead organic matter

Protozoan

An animal-like protist

Pyyrophyta

Organisms in this phylum are responsible for causing the red tide.

Chrysophyta

Diatoms belong to this phylum.

Paramecium

A ciliated protist that lives in fresh water and eats other tiny organisms for food.

Amoeba

A type of protist characterized by great flexibility and the presence of pseudopodia.

Malaria

A disease caused by mosquitoes transmitting the sporozoan Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium falciparum into the bloodstream.

Euglena

Plant-like protist that moves by a flagellum.

Giardiasis

An intestinal disease caused by the parasitic protozoan Giardia lamblia

Rhodophyta

Phylum of red algae

Phaeophyta

Phylum of brown algae (kelp)

Chlorophyta

Phylum of green algae

Oomycota

Water molds

Myxomycota

Slime molds

Contractile vacuole

The cell structure that collects extra water from the cytoplasm and then expels it from the cell

Oral groove

Lateral depression on the paramecium into which food is swept by ciliary currents

Eye spot

An area on a protist that is sensitive to the amount of light in the environment

Micronucleus

The smaller, reproductive nucleus found in some protozoans

Endosymbiosis

A theorized process in which early eukaryotic cells were formed from simpler prokaryotes.

Cordyceps fungus

AKA - zombie fungus

Truffles

An expensive type of sac fungi that are used as food.

Basidia

Reproductive structures that produce spores

Hyphae

The branching, threadlike tubes that make up the bodies of multicellular fungi

Mycelium

Densely branched network of the hyphae of a fungus

Mycorrhizae

Ecological relationship between the mycelium of a fungus and the roots of certain plants

Chitin

Polysaccharide found in arthropod exoskeletons and fungal cell walls.

External digestion

The process in which an enzyme is released that helps digest nutrients, before an organism ingests or absorbs them.

Candida auris

Emerging global health threat. Resistant to all three major classes of antifungals.

Glomeromycota

A group of fungi that form symbiotic relationships with the roots of trees

Ascomycota

The phylum to which yeast belongs

Chytridiomycota

A primitive division of fungi that live in water and produce gametes with flagella

Zygomycota

Bread and fruit molds belong to this phylum.

Basidiomycota

Club fungi (mushrooms)

Ringworm

A highly contagious, fungal infection of the skin or scalp.