1.

0 INTRODUCTION
Objectives on doing this experiment is to describe the characteristics of
protistan, to identify and classify the organisms and to identify the structures in
the organism studied.
Protists constitute one of the five kingdoms in Whittaker's system of
classification (1969), namely procaryots, protists, plants, fungi and animals.
They used to be subdivided depending on their mode of nutrition into protozoa,
which belonged to the animal kingdom, and protophyta, which belonged to the
plant kingdom. However, protists of some kinds, especially among the flagellata,
can be either autotrophic or heterotrophic. In addition, mycologists have claimed
that they have identified a further group, the myxomycetes, which are
characterised by their strange pedunculate aerial fructifications several
millimetres long. However, the fact that their cycle includes a long amoeboid
phase means that they should be classified as protists and given the name
mycetozoa. On the other hand, protophytes overlap somewhat with some
colonial forms of algae, with which no very clear-cut distinctions can be made:
the protist kingdom therefore merges partly with the plant kingdom. One feature
common to all protists is their unicellular structure. Most of them live in aquatic
habitats, and some of them are parasites. Protists are thought to include more
than 30 000 species. Systematic descriptions of their morphological features
differ considerably from one author to another. They include several clearly
distinguishable branches.

2.0 MATERIALS
2.1 Compound microscope
2.2 Prepared slide of :
2.2.1
2.2.2
2.2.3
2.2.4
2.2.5
2.2.6
2.2.7
2.2.8
2.2.9
2.2.10
2.2.11

Spirogyra Vegetative
Chlamydomonas
Lichen, ascocarp
Marhantia gemmae
Diatoms, mixed
Amoeba proteus
Plasmodium volvox
Trypanamosa gambiense
Euglena cyst
Euglena
Penicillium conidia

3.0 PROCEDURES
3.1 Prepared slide examined with the dry objectives
3.2 All organisms specific structures identified
3.3 Macroscopic appearance of the organisms draw and labelled.

4.0 RESULTS

Spirogyra Vegetative

Chlamydomonas

magnification of 10 x 100

magnification of 100 x 100

Lichen, ascocarp
magnification of 10 100

Marhantia gemmae
magnification of 10 100

Diatoms, mixed
magnification of 40 100

Amoeba proteus
magnification of 100 x 100

Trypanamosa gambiens
magnification of 10 100

Plasmodium volvox
magnification of 100 x 100

Euglena cysts

Euglena
magnification of 100 x 100

magnification of 100 x 100

Marhantia gemmae

Penicillium conidia

magnification of 10 100

magnification of 40 100

5.0 DISCUSSION
6.0 POST LAB QUESTIONS
6.1 What features distinguish slime molds and water molds from fungi?
Slime molds are known as the fungal-like protists. They can move and lack of
chitin in their cell wall which helps define true fungi. Besides, protists have a
motile life stage while fungi do not (Robert Fogel, Ivins and Patricia Rogers,
2006).

6.2 What are the features of a typical protist?

The feature of typical protists is lack of true tissues and organs. Range from
single cells to simple colonial forms and from microscopic size to those visible
with the unaided eye. Possess membranous cellular organells. Often have a
motile stage in their life cycle. They can reproduce asexually and sexually. Most
of them are aquatic or moist soil habitats.
6.3 Why are protists so difficult to classify?
The main cause of difficulty of classifying protists is because the definition of
Kingdon Protista itself where it defined by what they are not for example not
plant, fungi or animals. Most of protists are single-cell, some are colonial, and
some multicellular. Some are photoautotrophic, some ingestive heterotrophs, and
some capable of both modes of nutrition. In other words, there is a lot of
diversity between 'protists' - some are closer to animals, and some are closer to

plants. Research in molecular biology has helped clear up some of the

confusion, but protist classification is an ongoing process (The Free Dictionary,
n.d.).
6.4 What are the three informal groups of protists? Describe and give at least

three examples from each group.

According to Alderman, Strathy, Cofield, et all (n.d.), the three groups of protists are
animal-like protists, plant-like protists and fungus-like protists.
Animal-like protists are called protozoans which also known ad first animals
because it is thought that they are the evolutionary history of animals. All of the
animal-like protists are heterotrophs; they are unable to make their own food.
But unlike animals, they are unicellular. Since they cant make their own food
they must be able to move through their environment and catch their food. The
animal-like protists are divided into four groups based upon their means of
mobility and manners for catching their food. They are divided into: protists
with pseudopods, protists with cilia, protists with flagella, and parasitic protists.
Examples: Amoeba proteus, Giardia lamblia, Paramecium.
Plant-like protists are autotrophic; they can make their own foods. They live in
soil, on the barks of trees, in fresh water, and in salt water. Plant-like protists are
very important to the earth because they produce an abundant amount of oxygen.
They are the basis for the aquatic food chain. These protists are similar to plants.
Most are photosynthetic. Some have stem-like structures called stipes and

anchoring structures called holdfasts, while plants have actual stems and roots.
Many of these protists release their eggs into the environment where the sperm
will fertilize the egg. Plants on the other hand will retain the egg in the "parent"
plant where it will fertilize. Some examples of plant-like protists are:
Euglenoids, Dinoflagellates, Chrysophytes, Green Algae, Red Algae, and Brown
Algae.
Fungus-like protists are heterotrophic, they cannot make their own food, and
thus they must be able to move at some point in their lives. These protists
contain long hyphea-like strands thus they contain the physical appearance of
fungi. The differences lies in that the hyphea of fungi are white while the hyphae
of protist are usually bright in colour. The fungus-like protists can act as
decomposers. They break down dead organisms by releasing digestive enzymes
into the dead organism. In the end materials useful to other living organisms are
released into the surrounding environment. Examples of fungus-like protists are
water molds and slime molds.

6.5 Briefly describe how ameobes obtain their foods?

Amoeba engulfs its food through temporary finger like extensions of the cell
which fuse over the food particle forming a food vacuole. Inside the food
vacuole, complex substances are broken down into simpler once which diffuse

into the cytoplasm. The remaining undigested material is moved to the surface of
the cell and thrown out.

6.6 How are ciliates like and different from amoeboids?

They are different in locomotion where ciliates have hair like protrusions to use
to move about, amoeboid are fluidic and contract and expand to move.

7.0 CONCLUSION

8.0 REFERENCES
Chytridiomycota.

Retrieved

on

10th

February

2013

from

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Chytridiomycota
Oomycota.

Retrieved

on

10th

February

2013

from

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Oomycota
Phyla Sporozoa and ciliophora. Retrieved on 10 th February 2013 from
http://library.thinkquest.org/27819/ch7_8.shtml
Phyla Mastighophora and sarcodina. Retrieved on 10th February 2013 from
http://library.thinkquest.org/27819/ch7_7.shtml
Zygomycota.

Retrieved

on

10th

February

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Zygomycota

2013

from

9.0 APPENDICES

100 x 100 magnification of

Amoeba proteus

100 x 100 magnification of Chlamydomonas

40 x 100 magnification of Diatoms

100 x 100 magnification of Euglena

100 x 100 magnification of

Euglena cysts

10 x 100 magnification of
Lichen ascocrap

10 x 100 magnification of
Marhantia gemmae

40 x 100 magnification of
Penicillium conidia

100 x 100 magnification of

Plasmodium volvox

10 x 100 magnification of
Spirogyra vegetative

10 x 100 magnification of
Trypanosoma gambiense