B From Bacteria to Plants B 2.1 Protists

Protists A protist is a one- or many-celled organism that lives in moist or wet surroundings. All protists have eukaryotic cells—cells – have nucleus Protists usually reproduce asexually by cell division. The result is two new cells that are genetically identical.

Protists Asexual reproduction of many-celled protists occurs by regeneration. Some protists are plantlike because, like plants, they contain the pigment chlorophyll in chloroplasts and can make their own food. Plantlike protists are known as algae (AL jee) (singular, alga).

Protists Dinoflagellates have two flagella. A flagellum (plural, flagella) is a long, thin, whiplike structure used for movement. Protists that have characteristics of both plants and animals are known as the euglenoids (yoo GLEE noydz).

Protists Euglenoid Dinoflagelletes

Protists When light is not present, Euglena can feed on bacteria and other protists. One-celled, animal-like protists are known as protozoans. These protists have cilia (SIH lee uh)—short, threadlike structures that extend from the cell membrane.

Protists Paramecium Amoeba

Protists Some protozoans move through their environments and feed using temporary extensions of their cytoplasm called pseudopods

Protists