(12) Station 5-8 (Protista cont)

What are general characteristics for the Clade Charophytes?

• similar to higher plants in color (pigment: chlorophyll A/ B and carotenoids)

• They are the closest relatives of land plants

Where are Charophytes found ?

ponds and lakes

What are the 4 distinctive traits Charophytes share with higher plants?

1) rings of cellulose-synthesizing proteins

2) Peroxisome enzymes

3) structure of flagellated sperm

4) formation of a phragmoplast

What’s the Cellular organization of Desmids?

Unicellular

What are unique characteristics to identify Desmids?

Nucleus, isthmus, and chloroplasts

What’s the habitat of Desmids?

Found floating in fresh water

What’s the cellular organization of Spirogyra?

Multicellular filaments

What are unique characteristics to identify Spirogyra?

Chloroplasts, conjugation tube, male gamete, female gamete, and Zygospores

What are the gametes in Spirogyra referred to as and why?

Isogametes because they’re identical in size

What’s the habitat of Spirogyra?

Freshwater ponds

What characteristics are found in the supergroup Unikonta?

A single flagella and the fusion of three genes or have lobed or tube shaped pseudopodia

Where does evidence suggest Unikonta evolved from?

They might’ve been the first group of eukaryotes to evolve from other eukaryotes

What are the 2 main Protista clades included in the subgroup Unikonta

• The Amoebozoans

• The opisthokonts

What are the other 2 clades included in the supergroup Unikonta?

Fungi and animals

What are the general characteristics of the Clade Amoebozoans?

Lobe or tube shaped Pseduopodia

What are the 3 clades included in the larger clade Amoebozoans?

1) the Slime molds

2) the Gymnamoebas

3) the entamoebas

What are the general characteristics of the Slime Molds?

Once thought to be fungi because the possess hyphae and their fruiting bodies

What do Slime Molds feed on?

Microorganisms that live in any type of dead plant material

Where are Slime Molds found in?

In soil, lawns, the Forrest floor, decomposing logs

What are the 2 clades divided into and why?

• the Plasmodial slime molds

• the cellular Slime Molds

  due to their unique life styles