5 Major Groups of Protists

Traits of alveolates

• single celled

• small cavities under cell surface

What are the 3 groups of alveolates?

• Dinoflagellate

  • “whirling whips” - 2 flagella propel them

  • red tides

• Apicomplexan

  • parasites

  • no locomotion

  • complex life cycle

  • plasmodium - causes malaria carried by anopheles

• Ciliates

  • unicellular complexity

  • paramecium

Traits of stramenophiles

• fine, hair-like projections on flagella

What are the 3 groups of stramenophiles?

• diatoms

  • photosynthetic

  • silica cell walls

  • asexual/sexual reproduction

• brown algae

  • multicellular

  • fucoxanthin (brown color)

  • holdfast (“glue”)

  • Macrocytis - giant kelp

• Oomycetes (water molds)

  • Saprobic/decomposers/parasitic

  • Irish potato blight

Traits of rhizaria

• pseudopods - movement & feeding

What are the 3 groups of rhizaria?

• Cercozoans

  • diverse

• Foraminiferan

  • marine zooplankton

  • calcium carbonate shells

• Radiolarian

  • marine

  • shells of silica

  • pseudopods

Traits of excavates

• Anaerobic

• no mitochondira

What are the 5 groups of excavates?

• Diplomonads (giradia)

  • humans get sick w dysentery from drinking untreated water

• Parabasalids (trichomonas vaginalis)

  • infects mucous layer of of urinary/reproductive tracts

  • STD - trichomiasis

• Heteroloboseans

  • amoeboid

• Euglenozons & kinetoplastids

  • unicellular, flagella, distinctive mitochondria

  • Euglena - a euglenid

    • flagellum, chloroplasts

Traits of amoebozoans

• without shells

• lobe-shaped

• pseudopods

What are the 3 groups of amoebozoans?

• Loboseans (amoebas)

  • unicellular

  • thick pseudopods

  • phagocytosis

• 2 slime molds

  • decomposers on forest floor

  • blurs line between colony of separate individuals & single multicellular individual

  • 2 phase life cycle