Fundamental features that distinguish them from bacteria and archaea:
• Most eukaryotic cells are large, have many more organelles, and have a much more extensive cytoskeleton.
• The nuclear envelope is a unique trait that defines the Eukarya.
• Multicellularity is rare in bacteria and unknown in archaea, but has evolved multiple times in eukaryotes.
• Bacteria and archaea reproduce asexually by binary fission; eukaryotes reproduce asexually via mitotic cell
division, or sexually by producing gametes or spores via meiotic cell division.
Protists Are Particularly Abundant in Aquatic Environments.
Why Biologist study Protist?
(1) they are important medically,
(2) they are important ecologically, and
(3) they are critical to understanding the evolution of plants, fungi, and animals.
Impacts on Human Health and Welfare
In 1845 most of the 3 million acres that had been planted to grow potatoes in Ireland
became infested with Phytophthora infestans—a parasite that belongs to a group of
protists called water molds. Potato tubers that were infected with P. infestans rotted
in the fields or in storage.
Malaria Express protein, get
stuck and block the
40 k fold
blood passage
Harmful Algal Blooms (Red tides)
-Unicellular species experiences rapid population growth & reaches high densities in an aquatic environment: Bloom
-Photosynthetic protists, dinoflagellates synthesize toxins that give protection from predation by small animals.
-Dinoflagellates have high concentrations of pigments called xanthophylls, their blooms can discolor seawater.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning: when people eat shellfish that have fed
heavily on protists that synthesize poisons called Saxitoxins.
Saxitoxins: block ion channels for electrical signals. In humans, high
dosages of saxitoxins cause unpleasant symptoms i.e. prickling
sensations in the mouth or even life-threatening symptoms such as
muscle weakness and paralysis.
Ecological Importance of Protists
Photosynthetic protists take in carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere and reduce, or “fix,” it to form sugars or other
organic compounds with high potential energy.
Primary producers: Diatoms are photosynthetic protists that
rank among the leading primary producers in the oceans simply
because they are so abundant.
Diatoms and other organisms that drift in the open oceans or
lakes are called Plankton.
Could Protists Help Limit Global Climate Change?
How Do Biologists Study Protists?
Microscopy: Studying Cell Structure
The early microscopist Anton van Leeuwenhoek identified the parasite Giardia intestinalis by examining samples.
Picoplankton: tiny—from 0.2 micrometers (μm) to 2 μm in diameter.
Evaluating Molecular Phylogenies using DNA sequence
Direct sequencing is based on sampling soil or water, analyzing the DNA sequence of specific genes in the sample,
and using the data to place the organisms in the sample on a phylogenetic tree.
Evaluating Molecular Phylogenies
What Themes Occur in the Diversification of Protists?
Diversification of Nuclei
• Diplomonads (Excavata) have two nuclei that look identical;
it is not known how they interact or whether they have
different roles.
• Ciliates (Alveolata) have a diploid micronucleus that is
involved only in reproduction (exchanged during
conjugation), and a polyploid macronucleus where
transcription occurs.
• In foraminifera (Rhizaria), red algae (Plantae), and
plasmodial slime molds (Amoebozoa), certain cells contain
many nuclei.
Structures for Support and Protection: Many protists have cell walls outside their plasma membrane; others have hard
external structures called a shell.
How Do Protists Obtain Food?
Protists can feed by either (1) ingesting packets of food, (2) absorbing organic molecules directly from the
environment, or (3) performing photosynthesis.
Ingestive Feeding: Cellular slime mold Dictyostelium is large enough to engulf bacteria and archaea. A flexible
membrane and dynamic cytoskeleton give these species the ability to surround and “swallow” prey using long,
fingerlike projections called pseudopodia (“false-feet”).
Absorptive feeding occurs when nutrients are taken up directly from the environment, across the plasma membrane,
usually through transport proteins.
How Do Protists Move?
Many protists actively move to find food.
How Do Protists Reproduce?
Some species of protists reproduce sexually, others asexually, and some by either method depending on
environmental conditions.
The multicellular haploid form is called a gametophyte, because specialized cells in this individual produce gametes, also
haploid, by mitotic cell division.
The multicellular diploid form is called a sporophyte because it has specialized cells that undergo meiotic cell division to
produce haploid cells called spores.
A spore is a single haploid cell that divides mitotically to form a multicellular, haploid gametophyte. A gamete is also a
single haploid cell, but its role is to fuse with another gamete to form a diploid zygote.