Protista Notes

Kingdom Protista

• Not a plant, animal, or fungi = Protist
• Most diverse kingdom
• Found in watery environments
• Unicellular or multicellular
• Divided into 3 groups according to energy obtainment:
  • Animal-like: heterotrophic
  • Plant-like: autotrophic
  • Fungus-like: external digestion, parasitic or decomposers

Protist Groups

• Animal-like (Protozoans):
  • Amoebas: move by pseudopods, food vacuoles, cause amoebic dysentery
  • Zooflagellates: move by flagella, cause African sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma brucei)
  • Ciliates: move by cilia, Paramecium, contractile vacuoles
• Plant-like (Algae):
  • Diatoms: thin cell wall (silica/glass)
  • Dinoflagellates: bioluminescent, red tides
• Fungus-like (Molds):
  • Slime molds
  • Water molds: thrive on dead matter, parasitic, no cell walls of true fungi

Protist Characteristics

• Animal-like: Single-celled heterotrophs, move with pseudopods/cilia/flagella, cause disease.
• Plant-like: Single-celled or multicellular, reproduce sexually/asexually, diatoms have silica cell walls.
• Fungus-like: Decompose organic matter, lack cell wall.