Protist Basics
Define protists:
Usually unicellular (but algae is a multicellular protist)
Eukaryotes (have membrane-bound organelles & nucleus)
Domain = Eukarya
Kingdom = Protista
What are Fungi, Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes?
Eukaryotic cells
What are two ways protists & fungi can reproduce?
Asexual and sexual reproduction
What are two types of relationships that protists & fungi are involved in?
Mutualism and parasitism
Examples of protists:
Amoebas, slime molds, and euglena
What are ways protists gain energy?
Autotrophs, heterotrophs, mixotrophs
Fungi are more closely related to _____ than _____
Plants ; animals
Asexual reproduction in protists:
Undergoes mitosis
Goes through conjugation then mitosis (results in genetic diversity)
Mutualistic relationships for protists:
Where both the host and protist benefits
Ex: Protists can live in the intestines of termites and produce enzymes that can help termites digest wood
Protists can be categorized as:
“Plant-like, animal-like, or fungus-like”
Plant or fungus-like = contains cell walls of cellulose
What are ways protists benefit us?
Photosynthetic protists in aquatic environments produce oxygen and are part of the food chain
Act as decomposers
Have relationships with other organisms
Some fungi can be _____ or _____
Decomposers ; parasites
Sexual reproduction in protists:
Alternation of generations = when protists have sexual life cycles that switch between diploid and haploid
Ex: water molds reproduce sexually by undergoing meiosis and produce male and female gametes- fertilization and make a zygote
Parasitic relationships for protists:
Where the host does not benefit but the protist does
Ex: Protist named Plasmodium that causes malaria (mosquitoes as transmitters/vectors)
Many ___ can perform photosynthesis:
protists
How can protists harm us?
Can cause disease
Can damage crops
Can fungi be multicellular or unicellular or both?
Both
What are three ways fungi can asexually reproduce?
Spore Reproduction, Fragmentation, Budding
Mutualistic relationships for fungi:
Where the fungi and host both benefit
Ex: Mycorrhiza benefits fungi and plants because fungi get food and plants have help gaining access to minerals and water
Examples of fungi:
Yeasts, mushrooms, and bread molds
What are ways protists move?
Pseudopods = changes cell shape by projecting cytoplasm to move in a direction
Cilia = hair-like structures around the cell that move the cell like oars on a boat (supported by microtubules)
Flagella = tail-like structures that are on one end of the cell and move like a propeller or wavelike motion (supported by microtubules)
Some protists move via wind, water, or other organisms
Are fungi heterotrophs or autotrophs?
Heterotrophs
How can fungi reproduce sexually?
They can undergo meiosis and form haploid spores
Parasitic relationships for fungi:
Where the host is harmed
Ex: Athlete’s foot
Cell walls of fungi are made up of a carbohydrate called ___, which is also the ___ of some insects
Chitin ; exoskeleton