Protist Basics
Are protists prokaryotes or eukaryotes?
Eukaryotes
What is endosymbiosis?
When one species lives inside another species
What material makes up the glassy shells of diatoms?
Silica
What structures do ciliates use for locomotion?
Cilia
What protist causes malaria?
Plasmodium
Most protists are unicellular. Are all protists unicellular?
No
Which two organelles are explained by the endosymbiosis theory?
Mitochondria and chloroplasts
What type of algae are photosynthetic, multicellular, and can form marine forests?
Brown algae
What structures form large lobes in amoebae?
Pseudopodia
What disease is caused by Toxoplasma?
Toxoplasmosis
What three major groups of eukaryotes are excluded from the definition of protists?
Green plants, fungi, and animals
What type of bacterium was engulfed to eventually form mitochondria?
An aerobic bacterium
Which algae are the closest living relatives of land plants?
Green Algae
Which group has a red eyespot and can indicate organic enrichment?
Euglenozoans
What special structure do apicomplexans use to penetrate host cells?
An apical complex
Are protists considered a monophyletic group?
No
What is the difference between primary and secondary endosymbiosis?
Primary involves engulfing a cyanobacterium; secondary involves engulfing a eukaryote
Where are red algae especially common?
Tropical marine ecosystems
Which protists are mostly marine, may bioluminesce, and can include toxic species?
Dinoflagellates
Trypanosoma can cause what three diseases listed in the slideshow?
African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis
What are the four general nutritional/lifestyle categories used in the slideshow to describe protists?
Plant-like, animal-like, parasites, and fungal-like
Give two pieces of evidence that support the endosymbiosis theory.
Any two: mitochondria/chloroplasts are about the size of bacteria, replicate by fission, have their own ribosomes, or have their own DNA
Why are diatoms ecologically important?
They are important primary producers and form the base of aquatic food webs
A protist is an intestinal parasite with two nuclei and reduced mitochondria. What is it?
Giardia
What protist group resembles fungi, acts as an important aquatic decomposer, and includes Phytophthora?
Oomycota