INTRODUCTION TO PROTISTS

Protists are eukaryotes and have different reproductive methods.

• Protists are eukaryotes.
• They are apart from other kingdoms because of the remarkable differences in their reproductive methods.

They are classified by their method of obtaining nutrition. These are animal-like protists, plantlike protists, and funguslike protists.

Animal-like Protists

• They are also known as protozoans, and these are heterotrophs who usually ingest bacteria, algae, or other protozoans. Some are parasites.

AMOEBA

Giardia lamblia is a protozoan parasite found in the intestinal tract of a person who has consumed contaminated water.

Plant-like Protists

• They make their own food through photosynthesis. These are also referred to as algae. These also consume other organisms when light is unavailable.

Giant Kelp

Funguslike Protists

• These are similar to fungi because they absorb nutrients from other organisms. They are not classified as fungi because they have centrioles and different composition of cell walls.

Water Mold

Habitats:

Protists are typically found in damp or aquatic environments such as decaying leaves, damp soil, ponds, streams, and oceans.

Protists also live in symbiotic relationships.

Microsporidia are microscopic protozoans that cause disease in insects. These can be used as insecticides to control insects that destroy crops.

Theory of Endosymbiosis

Suggests that eukaryotes formed when a large prokaryote engulfed a smaller prokaryote. The two organisms eventually evolved into a single, more highly developed organism.

As with the origin of protists, scientists haven't quite figured their evolutionary history.