Protists and Fungi

General Characteristics: 1. Most are unicellular but some can be multicellular. 2. All protist cells are eukaryotic. 3. They don’t fit anywhere else….they are not plants, not animals, not fungi and not bacteria.

There are three types of protists: 1. Animal-like Divided into groups by how they move

a. . Ciliates covered with cilia for movement example: paramecium obtains food through its oral groove Gullet Oral groove Food vacuoles Contractile vacuole Micronucleus Macronucleus Cilia

Removes water with contractile vacuoles Reproduces asexually by fission or sexually by conjugation

b. Flagellates moves by flagella, a long hairlike structure obtains food through its cell membrane example: giardia

c. Parasites Movement by host example: plasmodium Causes malaria through the bite of a mosquito

d. Pseudopods Move by pseudopods which means false foot This method of movement is slow Example: ameba Food vacuole Nucleus Contractile vacuole Pseudopods

2. Plantlike Protists-contain chlorophyll and carry on photosynthesis Green protists Has no cell wall example-euglena red eyespot-sensitive to light and dark Chloroplast Eyespot Contractile vacuole Flagella Nucleus

Fire protists example: dinoflagellate Living things that have the ability to glow are called bioluminescent

Golden brown protists example: diatom Some make shells out of glass

Multicellular types (commonly called seaweeds) Red-found in deep marine water Brown-kelp and other seaweeds Green-mostly freshwater

3. Fungus-like protists-heterotrophs that feed on dead or decaying matter 1. slime molds 2. water molds

Importance of protists: 1. A redtide is a bloom of dinoflagellates that produce a toxin. 2. Symbiotic relationships (like coral and algae) 3. Diseases such as malaria, dysentery, potato blight

4. Phytoplankton-carries on about half of the photosynthesis for the world.

4. Agar-gel like material from red algae used in laboratories to grow bacteria

5. Algin-used to make products smooth like ice cream, cosmetics, salad dressings, syrups, pudding, candy

6. Diatoms glass shells are used as cleansers, abrasives, filters                                                                                                 

Fungi Kingdom- Characteristics: 1. All fungi are multicellular except for yeast 2. All fungi are heterotrophic, they must consume their food

Fungi are made up of tiny threads called hyphae

Phylum Zygomycota examples: black bread mold, dung fungus

Dung fungus

Phylum Ascomycota forms a sac like structure for spores This is the largest group of fungi examples: yeast, morels, truffles

Yeast-the only unicellular fungi

Morels

Truffles

Phylum Basidiomycota forms a club like structure for spores examples: mushrooms, puffballs, rusts, smuts Rust on flax Corn smut

Parts of the mushroom stipe hyphae

Phylum Deuteromycota (means imperfect) sexual reproduction never observed examples: penicillin, ring worm, athlete’s foot fungus

Importance of fungi in the world: 1. Fungi are decomposers and recycle nutrients 2. Many cause plant diseases such as rusts and smuts. In some parts of the world the crop loss is as high as 50%

3. Fungi cause human diseases such as ring worm, athlete’s foot, valley fever (a lung disease)

4. Many fungi form symbiotic relationships. a. Lichens are a fungus and a photosynthetic organism. They survive harsh places because the fungus provides water and shelter and the algae provides food.

b. Mycorrhizae are a fungus and tree roots b. Mycorrhizae are a fungus and tree roots. A many as 80% of plants form this relationship. The fungus provides minerals and water. The plant provides the fungus with food.

5. Many food products are made with fungi. 6. Medicines-antibiotics