Chapter 28

Protists

PowerPoint® Lecture Presentations for

Biology
Eighth Edition
Neil Campbell and Jane Reece

Lectures by Chris Romero, updated by Erin Barley with contributions from Joan Sharp
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Overview: Living Small

• Protist is the informal name of the kingdom of

mostly unicellular eukaryotes
• Advances in eukaryotic systematics have
caused the classification of protists to change
significantly; therefore Protista is no longer
valid as a kingdom

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Concept 28.1: Most eukaryotes are single-celled
organisms
• Protists are eukaryotes and thus have
organelles and are more complex than
prokaryotes
• Most protists are unicellular, but there are
some colonial and multicellular species

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Structural and Functional Diversity in Protists

• Protists exhibit more structural and functional

diversity than any other group of eukaryotes
• Single-celled protists can be very complex, as
all biological functions are carried out by
organelles in each individual cell

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• Protists can reproduce asexually or sexually, or
by the sexual processes of meiosis and
fertilization (syngamy)
• Protists, the most nutritionally diverse of all
eukaryotes, include:
– Photoautotrophs, which contain chloroplasts
– Heterotrophs, which absorb organic molecules or
ingest larger food particles
– Mixotrophs, which combine photosynthesis and
heterotrophic nutrition
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Endosymbiosis in Eukaryotic Evolution

• There is now considerable evidence that much protist

diversity has its origins in endosymbiosis
• Mitochondria evolved by endosymbiosis of an aerobic
prokaryote
• Plastids evolved by endosymbiosis of a photosynthetic
cyanobacterium
• The plastid-bearing lineage of protists evolved into red
algae and green algae
• On several occasions during eukaryotic evolution, red and
green algae underwent secondary endosymbiosis, in
which they were ingested by a heterotrophic eukaryote

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Fig. 28-02-2

Plastid
Plastids evolved from gram - cyanobacterium
Dinoflagellates

Secondary
endosymbiosis
Apicomplexans

Cyanobacterium Red alga

Primary
endosymbiosis Stramenopiles

Heterotrophic Secondary Plastid

endosymbiosis
eukaryote
Over the course
of evolution,
this membrane Euglenids
was lost.
Secondary
endosymbiosis
Green alga

Chlorarachniophytes
Five Supergroups of Eukaryotes

• It is no longer thought that amitochondriates

are the oldest lineage of eukaryotes
• One hypothesis divides all eukaryotes
(including protists) into five supergroups

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Fig. 28-03a
Diplomonads

Excavata
Parabasalids

Euglenozoans

Dinoflagellates

Alveolate
Apicomplexan

s
s

Chromalveolata
Ciliates

Diatoms

Stramenopiles
Golden algae

Brown algae

Oomycetes

Chlorarachniophytes

Rhizaria
Forams

Radiolarians

Red algae

Archaeplastida
Chlorophytes

Charophyceans

Land plants

Slime molds

Gymnamoebas

Entamoebas

Unikonta
Nucleariids

Fungi

Choanoflagellates

Animals
Fig. 28-03b

EXCAVATA "the excavates" no plastids, multiple flagella made

of flagellin, 2 nucloeli, parasitic
modified and free living Giardia
mitichondria
Diplomonads

Excavata
anaerobic
releases H, Trichomonas, STD Parabasalids
grooved body

crystaline rod inside flagella, kinetoplastids and Euglenids

Euglenozoans

Diplomonad Parabasalid

Trichomonas vaginalis STD

Giardia intestinalis

Euglenid Kinetoplastid

Trypanosoma

Euglena Chaga's disease and Sleeping Sickness

Fig. 28-03c

Chromalveolates

alveoli under the plasma

membrane
Dinoflagellates

Alveolates Apicomplexans

Chromalveolata
Ciliates
DNA sequence
how old they are
Diatoms
Stramenopiles

Golden algae
Brown algae
Oomycetes

2 flagella, one covered with fine

stiff hairs and the other one
smooth
 Alveolates
Dinoflagelates cells reinforced by cellulose plates
2 flagella in grooves
marine and freshwater plankton
auto, mixo and heterotrophic
toxic "red tide"
dino= whirl

Apicomplexa parasites
apex=tip
apex
modified plastid
complex lifecycle, 2 or more hosts
mitochondria malaria "bad air"
P. falciparium, P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale
nucleus

Ciliates cilia used for locomotion and feeding

macro and micronucleus
sexual reproduction by conjugation
Paramecium
 Feeding, water balance cillia Contractile vacuole Conjugation and
and waste removal Oral groove Reproduction of
mouth
Paramecium
micronucleus

macronucleus

food vacuoles

align side by side four haploid nucleoli are produced in each one
and partially fuse
1.compatible mates
three of which desintegrate
MEIOSIS

DNA exchange

DIPLOID HAPLOID

2 rounds of cytokinesis DIPLOID

producing four
daughter cells

MICRONUCLEAR
FUSION

3 rounds of mitosis two micronuclei Key

4 micronuclei become fuse into one
micronucleus haploid (n)
macronuclei
diploid (2n)
 Stramenopiles (stramen= straw, pilos= hair)
Diatoms glass like wall made of hydrated silica, 2 parts overlaping
walls with lacework of holes and grooves
asexual reproduction more common
100,000 species, very diverse
stores energy in form of oil and glucose polymer laminarin
fossilized= diatomaseous earth
biological carbon pump= carbon cycle
Golden Algae color due to carotenoids
flagellum biflagellated at one end of the cell
freshwater and marine plankton
outer container
all photosynthetic and some mixotropic (phagocytosis)
living cell
uni and multicellular
protective cysts that may survive decades
Brown Algae multicellular
mostly marine "sea weed"
blade carotenoids in plastids
similarities with plants evolved independantly (analogous)
gel-forming polysaccharides cushions the thali from waves
polysaccharides also prevent drying when exposed to air
stipe algin (found in cell walls) used as thickening agent in foods
hetero- or isomorphic alternation of generations
Fig. 28-16-2
Alternation of Generations
1. found in water just below the line of lowest tide

Sporangia located on surface of blade

holdfast

10 cm
MEIOSIS
Sporophyte
(2n) originate in sporangia
Zoospore

zygotes develop into sporophytes Female

while attached to the remains of Developing
the female gametophyte sporophyte Gametophytes
(n) half develop into
Zygote males and the other
Mature female (2n) Male half to females
gemetophyte Egg
(n) FERTILIZATION

Sperm eggs secrete a chemical signal

Key
attracting sperm
Haploid (n)
Diploid (2n)
 Oomycetes
"egg fungus"
water molds, white rusts and downy mildews
convergent evolution
*similarities with fungus: multicellular hyphae
*differences: cell walls made of chitin
no plastids
decomposers and/or parasites
water molds live in freshwater, rusts and mildews are plant parasites
*potato late blight
genetic engineering is passing resistant genes to domesticated crops
 Fig. 28-17-3
hyphae develop Oogonium
1. zoospores germinate Germ tube
on a substrate sexual structures
Egg nucleus
Cyst (n)
MEIOSIS
Antheridial ♂
Hyphae hypha with
sperm nuclei
ASEXUAL (n)
REPRODUCTION
Zoospore
(2n) FERTILIZATION
Zygote Zygotes
germination (oospores)
(2n)
Zoosporangium SEXUAL
(2n) REPRODUCTION
Key

Haploid (n) zygote forms

Diploid (2n) hypha

antheridia grows around the

oogonium depositing the sperm
using fertilization tubes
dormant period in which the
oogonium wall desintegrates

Life Cycle of Oomycetes

Fig. 28-03d

Rhizarians
vary in morphology but very similar in molecular systematics
referred as "amoebas"

2ry endosymbiosis with green algae

plastid surrounded by 4 membranes
vestigial nucleus called nucleomorph
Chlorarachniophytes

Rhizaria
threadlike calcium carbonate shells
pseudopods Forams
silica shells
Radiolarians
 Foraminifera
foramen= hole
ferre= to bear
found in ocean and freshwater
porous shell known as tests
form the sedimentary rocks
symbiotic algae

pseudopodia

shell made
of CaCO3
 Radiolaria
symmetrical internal skeleton made of silica
pseudopodia reinforced by microtubules
marine

pseudopods
Fig. 28-03e

Archaeoplastida

red and green algae, and land plants

unicellular and multicellular species

Archaeplastida
Red algae
Chlorophytes

algae
Green
Charophyceans
Land plants
Concept 28.5: Red algae and green algae are the
closest relatives of land plants
• Over a billion years ago, a heterotrophic protist
acquired a cyanobacterial endosymbiont
• The photosynthetic descendants of this ancient
protist evolved into red algae and green algae
• Land plants are descended from the green
algae
• Archaeplastida is a supergroup used by some
scientists and includes red algae, green algae,
and land plants

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• Red algae are reddish in color due to an
accessory pigment call phycoerythrin, which
masks the green of chlorophyll
• The color varies from greenish-red in shallow
water to dark red or almost black in deep water
• Red algae are usually multicellular; the largest
are seaweeds
• Red algae are the most abundant large algae
in coastal waters of the tropics
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Fig. 28-19
Bonnemaisonia
hamifera
Red Algae
Rhodophytes rodo=red
phycoerythrin masks chlorophyll
in shallower waters= less phycoerythin
may lack pigments, act as parasites
tropical oceans, freshwater and terrestrial
multicellular
alternation of generation cycle 8 mm
Dulse (Palmaria palmata)
no flagellated states in life cycle
water currents bring gametes together Nori. The red alga Porphyra is the
source of a traditional Japanese food.

The seaweed is
grown on nets in
shallow coastal
waters.

The harvested
seaweed is spread
on bamboo screens
to dry.

Paper-thin, glossy sheets of nori

make a mineral-rich wrap for rice,
seafood, and vegetables in sushi.
• Green algae are named for their grass-green chloroplasts
• Plants are descended from the green algae
• The two main groups are chlorophytes and charophyceans
• Most chlorophytes live in fresh water, although many are marine
• Other chlorophytes live in damp soil, as symbionts in lichens, or in
snow
• Chlorophytes include unicellular, colonial, and multicellular forms
• Most chlorophytes have complex life cycles with both sexual and
asexual reproductive stages

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Fig. 28-21
Ulva, or sea lettuce
Chlamydomonas

2 cm

Caulerpa,
an intertidal
chlorophyte
Fig. 28-22-2

Life Cycle of 1. mature cell, contains single when environment declines

gametes are developed
cup shaped chloroplast
Chlamydomonas Chlamydomonas
gametes fused forming
diploid zygote
Flagella –

Cell wall
+ Gamete
+ –
Nucleus (n)

Zoospore FERTILIZATION
Mature cell
ASEXUAL (n)
REPRODUCTION
SEXUAL Zygote
Cross REPRODUCTION (2n)
section of
cup-shaped
chloroplast

undergoes 2 rounds MEIOSIS

Key of mitosis emerging
Haploid (n) as zoospores (n)
Diploid (2n)

after dormancy meiosis produces coat is secreted to

4 haploid cells (n), 2 of each protect zygote from
mating type (+/-) harsh conditions
Fig. 28-03f

Unikonta

Amoebozoans
Slime molds

Gymnamoebas

Entamoebas

Unikonta
Nucleariids
Opisthokonts

Fungi
Choanoflagellates

Animals
Concept 28.6: Unikonts include protists that are
closely related to fungi and animals
• The supergroup Unikonta "one flagella"
includes animals, fungi, and some protists
• This group includes two clades: the
amoebozoans and the opisthokonts (animals,
fungi, and related protists)
• The root of the eukaryotic tree remains
controversial
• It is unclear whether unikonts separated from
other eukaryotes relatively early or late
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Fig. 28-23

Hypothesis about the Choanoflagellates

Eukaryotic Tree
Animals
Unikonta
Common Fungi
ancestor
of all Amoebozoans
eukaryotes
Diplomonads
Excavata
Euglenozoans

Alveolates
Chromalveolata
Stramenopiles

DHFR-TS Rhizarians Rhizaria

gene
fusion Red algae

Green algae Archaeplastida

Plants
• Amoebozoans are amoeba that have lobe- or
tube-shaped, rather than threadlike,
pseudopodia
• They include gymnamoebas, entamoebas, and
slime molds
Amoeba proteus

pseudopods engolfing
a small green algae

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Slime Molds

• Slime molds, or mycetozoans, were once

thought to be fungi
• Molecular systematics places slime molds in
the clade Amoebozoa
• Many species of plasmodial slime molds are
brightly pigmented, usually yellow or orange
• Plasmodium is an example

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Fig. 28-24-3
repeated mitotic division
w/o cytoplasmic division
forms feeding plasmodium
4 cm
1. feeding stage
multinucleated
lives on organic matter

ameboid or flagellated stages

can convert from one to the
other
FERTILIZATION Zygote Feeding
(2n) plasmodium
mature plasmodium takes
Mature a weblike form
plasmodium
(preparing to fruit)
sporangia or fruiting
Young bodies
Flagellated Amoeboid cells sporangium
cells (n)
(n)
Mature
Germinating sporangium
spore
Spores
(n)
germination occurs in
MEIOSIS
favorable conditions

1 mm
Stalk
Life Cycle of Plasmodial Slime Mold Key
Haploid (n)
Diploid (2n)
Cellular Slime Molds

• Form multicellular aggregates in which cells

are separated by their membranes
• Cells feed individually, but can aggregate to
form a fruiting body

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Fig. 28-5-2
in favorable conditions amoebas emerge
Spores 2 fuse to form
FERTILIZATION
(n)
a zygote
Emerging
other cells crawl up the stalk amoeba
and develop into spores (n)
Zygote
SEXUAL (2n)
REPRODUCTION
1.Solitary amoebas (n)
600 µm
MEIOSIS

Fruiting ASEXUAL
bodies REPRODUCTION Amoebas
(n) (n)

Aggregated
amoebas becomes a giant cell
that eats other amoebas
and develop thick wall
Migrating
aggregate the cell multiplies by meiosis and
several mitosis events, rupturing
a stalk is formed supporting and releasing the new haploid
an asexual fruiting body. Some amoebas
of the cells dry up by this time
Cellular Slime Mold
when food is scared amoebas congregate
in responce to a chemical attraction forming
Life Cycle
a slug-like aggregate Key

Haploid (n)
200 µm
Diploid (2n)
Gymnamoebas (Gymno=naked)

• Gymnamoebas are common unicellular

amoebozoans in soil as well as freshwater and
marine environments
• Most gymnamoebas are heterotrophic and
actively seek and consume bacteria and other
protists

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• Entamoebas are parasites of vertebrates and
some invertebrates
• Entamoeba histolytica causes amebic
dysentery in humans

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• Opisthokonts opistho=posterior
• the flagella is located in the posterior of the cell
• Include animals, fungi, and several groups of
protists
• these are more related to fungi than to the rest
of protists, therefore will be seen in future
chapters

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Concept 28.7: Protists play key roles in ecological
relationships
• Protists are found in diverse aquatic environments
• Protists often play the role of symbiont
• Some protist symbionts may benefit their hosts
– Dinoflagellates nourish coral polyps that build reefs
– Hypermastigotes digest cellulose in the gut of termites

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• Some protists are parasitic
– Plasmodium sp. causes malaria

– Pfiesteria shumwayae is a dinoflagellate that causes fish kills

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Photosynthetic Protists

• ecological producers and consumers

• Many protists are important producers that obtain energy from the sun
• In aquatic environments, photosynthetic protists and prokaryotes are
the main producers
• The availability of nutrients can affect the concentration of protists

other consumers
herbivorous carnivorous
plankton plankton

bacteria

soluble organic
protistan matter
producers

The End
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