Protists – Study Guide

Date of first Eukaryotes (unicellular) 2 BYA

Date of first multicellular organisms 3.5 BYA

Name and explain the two processes that formed organelles in eukaryotic cells

Endosymbiosis – Host archaeon began undergoing membrane folding.

1.) The host acquired an aerobic bacterium (early mitochondria)

2.) The host acquired a photosynthetic bacterium (early chloroplast)

Give two pieces of evidence for the theory of endosymbiosis

1.) The presence of separate DNA within both chloroplasts and mitochondria
2.) Have ribosomes that are exactly alike to prokaryotes.
3.) Have their own cell membranes alike to prokaryotes

- Fill out the diagram below with the 3 domains and 4 eukaryotic kingdoms.

- You should understand how the branching on the diagram shows evolutionary
relationships/relatedness between the domains and kingdoms shown

Domain

Bacteria Eubacteria

Archaea Archaebacteria

Protista

Eukarya Plantae

Fungi

Animalia

Kingdom

What is the relationship between the protists and the other members of the domain eukarya?
Protists are a gray area of the Domain Eukarya, and really should be split into separate kingdoms.
They are not plants, fungi, or animals, and are incredibly diverse.
Fill out the table below
Protist group Defining Characteristics Unicellular, Other Info.
Multicellular
Both?
Photosynthetic/
Plant Like
Dinoflagellates -aquatic, two flagella of Unicellular -can cause red tide and produce toxic
unequal length substances

-have cell plates made of

cellulose

Euglenoids -have a flagella Unicellular

-1/3 are photosynthetic;
some can go back and forth
depending on light
availability.

Diatoms -aquatic, strong outer wall Unicellular -microscopic phytoplankton with

made of silica intricate shells

-MAJOR FOOD SOURCE for other

animals

Green Algae -has pigments, starch, and Can be both -closest relatives of land plants
cell walls similar to that of unicellular and
land plants. multicellular -aquatic

Brown Algae -aquatic MULTICELLUL

AR ONLY
-take form as large
multicellular structures
(known as SEAWEEDS)

Red Algae -aquatic Unicellular and

multicellular -often grow on coral reefs
-found in deep and tropical
waters

Fungus Like
Slime Molds -one large cell with UNICELLULAR -feed on bacteria and fungi
Plasmodial numerous nuclei; act as one
cell with multiple “brains” -found in moist environments

Cellular -consist of individual cells MULTICELLUL -feed on bacteria

with their own cell AR
membranes

-remain unicellular when

there is lots of food, but join
into a slug when there is little
food to preserve energy
Water Molds -filamentous Unicellular -live in wet/moist environments
-some are pathogenic and
parasitic to plants and
animals, some are
decomposers

Protozoa/
Animal Like
Amoeboid -move with pseudopodia- -Unicellular -ALL have lobe-shaped pseudopodia,
“false feet” used for locomotion and feeding

-projections of cell membrane -live in ponds and streams

and cytoplasm as motility aid

Flagellated -motile by the use of a Unicellular

flagella
Ciliated -covered in tiny hairs (cilia) Unicellular Incl: paramecium and stentors
used for motility

-two types of nuclei

Apicomplexans -non-motile Unicellular -can cause malaria and toxoplasmosis

-apical complex (special cells

that can penetrate into host
cells)

-ALL PARASITIC