1.0p Protista
2026-02-09 21:38
Status: #biology #developing
Tags: #cram #kingdom
1.5 Fungi
1.6 Plantae
1.0e Eukaryote
Protists
Defining Characteristics:
- Mainly Unicellular Organisms
- 3 Types:
- Animal-like protists
- Fungus-like protists
- Plant-like protists
- Requires aqueous (water) or wet environments to survive
Animal-like protists
- Heterotrophs
- Categorized by motility:
| Motility method | Explanation |
|---|---|
| pseudopods | false-feet, move insides to move |
| cilia | small hairs on the cell, pedalling |
| flagella | whip-like tails used to move |
Fungus-like protists
- Heterotrophs
- Absorbs organic materials from its environment, and does not consume organisms
- Produces spores for reproduction, either through mitosis (asexual) or meiosis (sexual)
- Categorized by genetic structure:
| Type | Distinguishing Feature | Observations |
|---|---|---|
| Plasmodial slime mold | Multi-nucleate | These cells can go from single cell organisms to multi-cell organisms and share many nucleus |
| Cellular slime mold | Single nucleus | These are single cell organisms that can communicate and act similar to Plasmodial |
| Water Mold | Filamentous | Thin-thread like DNA strands, and an parasite on aquatic organisms |
Plant-like protists
- Autotrophs
- Cellular Details:
- Chlorophyll
- Cellulose cell walls
- Store starch as energy
Algae
- Algae - Unicellular plant-type protests
- Seaweed - Multicellular synthetic algae
- Note - Algae are protists but some people choose to classify photosynthetic green algae as plants
Types of Algae
- Brown Algae:
- Root like, stem-like and leaf-like structures which differ from a true plant
- Contains chlorophyll (not green!)
- Ie. Kelp
- Brown algae provide essential oxygen and protection for local ecosystems
- Always unicellular
- Root like, stem-like and leaf-like structures which differ from a true plant
- Red Algae:
- One of the oldest multicellular organisms on earth
- Mainly used for food products
- Does not have chlorophyll (has molecules to absorb sunlight)
- Green Algae
- Compared to other algae, its cellular structure is most similar to terrestrial plants due to containing chlorophyll and cell walls
- Typically multicellular
Protist Replication
- Typically asexual reproduction
- Diatoms (cut-in-half) are symmetrical plant-like protists which may have sexual or asexual methods of reproduction
- This type of life cycle is known as alternation of generations.