The Protists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zsdYOgTbOk&safe=activehttps://
www.google.ca

(Protists intro-4 mins)

 Why Protists are Important
• Some perform photosynthesis and are the major
producers in the world’s oceans (along with some
prokaryotes)
• Abundant in terrestrial ecosystems but their ecological
niche is not as well understood
• Many are parasites; some cause diseases/harm
(eg: Malaria), while some don’t
• Beneficial protists include: nori (sushi!), agar, seaweed
that is found in toothpaste, cosmetics, and paints.
 Characteristics of Protists
• It is difficult to classify a protist by what it is (since they are so diverse), so it is usually
classified by what it is NOT
• A protist is any organism that is NOT classified as a: plant, animal, fungus, or bacteria
(prokaryote).

• Protists are eukaryotic having a distinct nucleus and organelles.

• Most protists are unicellular (one-celled) but some are multicellular.

 The Origin of Eukaryotes
 

 Protists first showed up in the fossil record about 1.5

billion years ago (AFTER bacteria)
 Protists represent an important evolutionary
advancement over bacteria. Unlike bacteria, they
have:
- DNA contained within a nucleus
- Membrane-bound organelles
 For those reasons, protists are considered the
FIRST EUKARYOTES
Look at the diagram below, where is kingdom protista found?
Look at the diagram below, where is kingdom protista found?
Everywhere!
What does this mean about the evolutionary relatedness between the species?
They are not actually RELATED to one another, except for the fact that they all came from eukaryotes (JUST like plants, animals
and fungi)
Therefore, we can try to classify them, but we classify them based on characteristics and behaviours, NOT based on evolutionary
relatedness.
 Types of Protists
 Most protists are MICROSCOPIC and UNICELLULAR and found in
fresh or salt water, but officially, there are three distinct groups of
protists, classified by how they obtain their nutrition:
o Plant-like protists (autotrophs)
o Animal-like protists (heterotrophs)
o Fungi-like protists (decomposers/heterotrophs)

 There are 45 phyla in the Kingdom Protista, within those three groups
 Research in this kingdom is ongoing, it will be likely that the kingdom
Protista may be further divided into more meaningful classifications
 Since there is no on “typical” protist, there are different ways to
classify them.
Protists are primarily classified according to
how they obtain nutrition:
a. Animal-like—heterotrophs Didinium
eating
(eat other organisms) Paramecium

b. Plant-like—autotrophs
They contain chloroplasts Green like plants!

and make their own food

(photosynthesis).

b. Fungus-like—
Water mold
Decomposers/Heterotrophs
 Plant Like Protists (Protophyta)
• This group is considered “plant-like” because the organisms
contain chlorophyll, the pigment used for photosynthesis
 These autotrophic organisms are composed mostly of unicellular algae. The
dinoflagelates, diatoms and Euglena-like flagellates are photosynthetic
protists.

Euglena
 Plant Like Protists
Algae:
• Algae, especially green algae, plays an important role in the
overall global environment
• Algae are primary food producers in aquatic food chains,
meaning they are AUTOTROPHS, they create their own food
from the sun
• Algae can also be found in soil, on tree trunks, and on rocks
• They supply 67% of the GLOBAL supply of oxygen, through
photosynthesis
• Reproduction types vary among different types of algae
 Plant Like Protists
 Humans use algae in many ways:
 Consumed directly as food
 Used as fertilizers
 Indirectly in the production of drug capsules, gels and cosmetics
 Indirectly in paints, ice cream, and pie filling
 To create petroleum
 

Green Algae
 Plant Like Protists
Method of Movement:
a. Flagellum—whip like structure used for
movement
 
Unicellular Algae:
Phytoplankton provides a source of nourishment for other
organisms
Protists recycle sewage and waste materials.
C. Algal blooms are harmful when overgrown—deplete water of
nutrients consequently killing fish.
D. Algal blooms called Red Tides cause illness, paralysis, and
death of fish and even humans.
 Main plant-like protists and their key features
Plant-like Image Key features
protist
euglenoid - Unicellular
- Have 2 flagella to move
- Outer surface called a pellicle is made up of a protein
layer supported by microtubules that spiral around the
cell and can slide over one another
- The action of these pellicle strips sliding over one
another, known as metaboly, gives Euglena its
exceptional flexibility and contractility
 Main plant-like protists and their key features
Plant-like Image Key features
protist
dinoflagellate - unicellular
- A type of algae
- Responsible for algal blooms and bioiluminescence
- Endosymbionts with marine life, and important part of the
coral reef ecosystem
 Main plant-like protists and their key features
Plant-like Image Key features
protist
diatoms -unicellular
- A type of algae
- Have CLEAR cell walls made of opaline silica
- Move by gliding

Brown algae - Multicellular

- Seaweed
- Can grow up to 100 m!
Plant-like protist Image Key features
Red algae - MOST multicellular
- No cilia or flagella
- Cell walls made of cellulose
- Red because of the presence
of the pigment
phycoerythrin; this pigment
reflects red light and absorbs
blue light.
Plant-like protist Image Key features
Green algae - 8000 different species
- Most are unicellular, but
they are colonial protists
(meaning they congregate in
large clusters)
- Most have 2 flagella
- Gave rise to the first plants
 Animal Like Protists
• Another name for these protists is PROTOZOA
• Unlike the plant-like protests, protozoa are HETEROTROPHS – they cannot
make their own food, they must get it by consuming other organisms
• A majority of protozoa are free living (they can exist on their own) while
others infect higher animals and can cause diseases.
• Protozoa are classified MAINLY by their type of locomotion, but the
following are also considered:
• types of organelles
• life cycle
• mode of reproduction
• nutrition
• free-living or parasite
 Animal Like Protists
• ALL ARE UNICELLULAR
• Protozoa range in size from 2 m to 5 cm
• Think about it! A 5cm cell! These are called
xenophyophores, and they are found on the
ocean floor
• They occupy a diverse range of moist habitats
• Reproduction is usually by binary fission
• Under unfavourable conditions, protozoa may
form CYSTS, a type of resting cell similar to the
spores formed by bacteria
 Animal Like Protists

Method of Movement:
Cilia – hair like projections used for
movement and feeding
Eg: paramecium

b. Cytoplasmic streaming – pseudopod

(false foot) extends and cytoplasm
streams into it.
Eg: amoeba
• C) flagella- posses one or more flagella
• Eg: flagellata
 Main animal-like protists and their key features
Animal- Key features
like
protist
ciliate -many have no cell wall
- Many cilia line the membrane used for
motility
- Have complex internal structures- refer
to diagram
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn3MTYNe8mM (a paramecium
eating)
• An amoeba eating a paramechttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mv6Ehv06mXYium!
 Main animal-like protists and their key features
Animal-like Image Key features
protist
Apiocomplexa - No cell wall
(also called - Parasites of animals
sporozoa) - They can release spores which can reproduce asexually
and infect organisms.
- They have a complex life cycle with sexual and asexual
generations.
- Eg: plasmodium protist which causes malaria (carried
by mosquitoes)
 Main animal-like protists and their key features
Animal-like Image Key features
protist
Radiolarians - Have a soft inner capsule and a hard skeleton made of
(also called opaline silica, therefore they are transparent
radiozoa) - Found in the upper layers of all oceans
- They are known for their beauty (seriously!)
 Main animal-like protists and their key features
Animal-like protist Image
choanoflagellates
Key features
- A group of free-living unicellular protists that are “colonial”,
meaning they congregate together
- They are considered to be the closest living relatives of the
animals. 
- Choanoflagellates have a funnel shaped collar of
interconnected microvilli at the base of a flagellum.
- *You will see these again when we explain the evolution of
animals. Also, note that animals are most closely related to
choanoflagellates on the phylogenetic tree
 Fungi Like Protists
 Fungi-like protists are also referred to as slime moulds
because of the slimy trail they leave behind as they move
across the ground
 Slime moulds prefer
o cool, shady, moist places
o they are often found under fallen leaves or on rotting logs
 They move extremely slowly, sometimes only a few millimetres
a day
Fungus-like Protists:

1. Examples—
a)Slime molds

b)Water molds
2. Importance of Fungus-like Protists:
Beneficial—
Recycles dead organic material. Results in
rich, topsoil providing nutrients for plants.
b. Harmful—

P. Infestans (water mold) caused

Great Potato Famine in Ireland.
This lead to the mass starvation of
1 million Irish people.
 Main fungus-like protists and their key features
Animal-like protist Image Key features
Plasmodium slide - Life cycle has both unicellular and multicellular stages
moulds - Sexual reproduction is most likely to take place in very
damp conditions. In drier conditions, cellular slime
molds enter an asexual reproductive phase. Haploid
ameboid cells cease feeding and clump together to
form a slug-like pseudoplasmodium.
- Can move with flagella or pseudopods
- Slime mold is an informal name given to several kinds
of unrelated eukaryotic organisms that can live freely
as single cells, but can congregate together to form
multicellular reproductive structures. 
- Slime molds were formerly classified as fungi but are
no longer considered part of that kingdom.
 Main fungus-like protists and their key features
Animal-like protist Image Key features
Water moulds - Can be found as unicellular or multicellular
(oomycota) - They can produce sexually and asexually
- These protists resemble fungi due to their tube-like bodies called
mycelia
 Metabolism PROTISTS

Heterotrophic Autotrophic

Animal-like Fungus-like Plant-like

- can be parasitic/pathogenic - most are decomposers - contains chlorophyll

- prefer cool, damp habitats - photosynthesize
- parasites
* Plasmodium causing malaria Examples:
- Molds (water, slime) - single- Examples:
Examples: celled (vs. multicellular fungi - Euglena – unicellular,
- Amoeba kingdom) flagellates, heterotrophic at
- Sporozoans night
- ciliates like Paramecium - Algae – single-celled,
colonies, multicellular
 Interactions in Ecosystems
• Protists play key roles as either producers or consumers
• Climate change is causing ocean/lake temperatures to rise
and become more acidic, this interferes with protists’ ability to
produce their outer protective shell, disrupting the food chain
• dinoflagellates are protists that live symbiotically on coral
animals, pollution causes them to lose their chlorophyll
pigment giving the coral a bleached white appearance (a
process called coral bleaching)
 Life Cycles
Single-celled Protists

Can reproduce by:

a) Asexually through binary fission. Two genetically
identical daughter cells are produced.

b) Sexually through conjugation. Cells align and

exchange genetic information through their cell
membranes.
 Life Cycles
Multicellular Protists

More complex…
• Can involve sex cells (sperm and egg) each with half
the usual number of chromosomes – haploid
• A zygote is the union of a sperm cell and an egg,
creating a cell called a zygote
• Zygotes have two copies of every chromosome (one
from the sperm, one from the egg) - diploid
ALTERNATIONS OF
GENERATIONS
Life cycle of brown algae
HAPLOID STAGE of Brown Algae:
1. Diploid sporophyte divides by meiosis to release haploid spores (sporophyte- a
diploid organism that produces haploid spores forming the haploid stage of a
protist life cycle)
2. Haploid spores attach to a surface and divide by MITOSIS into a multicellular
haploid gametophyte (gametophyte- a haploid organism that produces haploid
sex cells in the haploid stage of the protist life cycle)
3. Haploid gametophyte produces haploid sex cells. Male gametophyte produce
haploid sperm cells, female gametophyte produce haploid egg cells

DIPLOID STAGE of Brown Algae

4. Haploid egg and sperm cells combine to form a diploid zygote
5. Diploid zygote will divide by mitosis to form a multicellular sporophyte
(and then the mature sporophyte will undergo meiosis and release haploid spores,
starting the cycle again)
Homework: using page 66 of the text, take notes about the life cycle of the
plasmodium protist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v55yg0RfoY- malaria life cycle
Page 67 Q. 3, 4, 6.
Read article on how choanoflagellates could explain how multicellularity
evolved- you will need to be able to explain HOW the choanoflagellates
work together, and WHY this provides evidence for the evolution of
multicellular organisms
Link to article:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eSnjVYTmasoG150KEYLk-K07R74d46Ys/vi
ew?usp=sharing