Diversification of Eukaryotes & Protists

These flashcards cover key concepts from the lecture on the diversification of eukaryotes and protists, focusing on definitions, significance, and examples.

What is the third domain of life that includes a range from single-celled microbes to multicellular organisms?

Eukarya

What are the distinguishing features of eukaryotes?

Nuclear envelope, membrane-bound organelles, multicellularity, asexual and sexual reproduction.

What are protists defined as?

All eukaryotes excluding land plants, fungi, and animals.

Why is it important to study protists?

They have medical importance, ecological roles, and provide evolutionary insights into eukaryotic lineages.

What caused the Irish potato famine in 1845?

The protist Phytophthora infestans, a type of water mold.

Which organism is primarily responsible for malaria?

Plasmodium falciparum.

What is a common fatal infection caused by Naegleria fowleri?

Meningoencephalitis.

What are the symptoms of malaria?

Cyclical fevers, chills, anemia, organ failure.

What is the vector for African Sleeping Sickness?

Tsetse fly (Glossina spp.).

What causes amoebic dysentery?

Entamoeba histolytica.

What is the definitive host for Toxoplasma gondii?

Domestic cats.

How is Giardiasis primarily transmitted?

Fecal-oral route, especially through contaminated water.

What are harmful algal blooms caused by?

Toxin-producing dinoflagellates.

What are the key roles of protists in aquatic ecosystems?

They act as primary producers and play a role in carbon fixation and oxygen production.

What led to the evolution of multicellularity in protists?

Cells staying together after division, leading to specialization for different tasks.

How did mitochondria likely originate?

Via endosymbiosis from a bacterium engulfed by ancestral eukaryotes.

What are the modes of nutrition for protists?

Ingestive feeding, absorptive feeding, and photosynthesis.

What reproductive strategies do protists use?

Asexual (mitosis, binary fission) and sexual (meiosis and gamete fusion).

What are the major protist lineages?

Plantae, Alveolata, Stramenopila, Excavata, Rhizaria, Amoebozoa, Opisthokonta.

What characterizes the life cycles of protists?

They can be haploid-dominant, diploid-dominant, or involve alternation of generations.