Diversity of Life

DOMAIN EUKARYA - PROTIST I

At the end of this module, you should be able to:
1. Enumerate the distinguishing characteristics of protists (C3.A.c.2)
2. Identify representative organisms from different groups of protists

Protists have caused arguments among scientists even in recent years. This is because
protists, other than being most of them unicellular eukaryotes, seemingly have no
distinguishing characteristics as a group. In the past, Kingdom Protista was dubbed as the
“junk drawer” kingdom because scientists would “dump” eukaryotic organisms that they
could not classify as an animal, plant, or fungi into this kingdom. In fact, this is exactly what
the term protist means today.

Fortunately, most scientists have agreed on a scheme to classify protists along with their
eukaryotic fellows. Scientists have discovered, by morphological and genetic analysis, that
protists are more closely related to animals, plants or fungi than to their fellow protists. This
current scheme may be too advanced for now, so you will get to know protists in the manner
scientists previously used – by classifying protists as animal-like, plant-like, or fungus-like.

AN OVERVIEW OF PROTISTS

Protists are thought to have been the first eukaryotic cell to have existed on the planet.
Scientists believe that the very first protist was formed when a unicellular prokaryote and a

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bacterium it consumed partnered up for survival. Later on, the bacterium transformed into
the mitochondrion – an organelle exclusively found in eukaryotic cells.

The diversity of protists is one of the reasons why they, as a group, cannot be distinguished
by a few characteristics. The majority of protists are unicellular and microscopic, but some
can be multicellular or colonial, which can be as large as trees. Some protists can even be
unicellular, colonial, or multicellular at some point in their life! Some protists are autotrophic
like plants, while some are heterotrophic and consume other organisms for nutrition. Again,
some protists can even be both autotrophic and heterotrophic (called mixotrophic)!

Despite their differences, a common feature among protists is that they are aquatic and
prefer to live where there is water. This can be virtually anywhere – in bodies of water such
as oceans or lakes, in terrestrial habitats with enough moisture such as damp soil or leaf
litter, or even inside the body fluids of living organisms.

Animal-like Protists

These protists, informally called protozoans (literally, “first animals”) are likened to animals
because they are generally heterotrophic and most are capable of locomotion. In the past,
scientists used to group them according to the cellular structures they use for movement.

Some protozoans, particularly

amoebas, use pseudopodia to
move around and catch organic
matter or other smaller organisms.
Their pseudopodia are extensions of
the cytoplasm of their cells, and the
appearance of this structure varies
among different groups of amoeba.
Amoeba such as Entamoeba
histolytica (Figure 2), which causes
amebic dysentery in humans, has
tube-like pseudopodia.

Other organisms that use pseudopodia are tiny

organisms called foraminifera, which have
thread-like pseudopodia. Their pseudopodia extend
through small pores in their shells made of calcium
carbonate. When they die, their shells, called tests
(Figure 3), often become fossilized in sedimentary
rocks. They consume smaller organisms but some
species are capable of photosynthesis by “stealing”
chloroplasts from organisms it consumed.

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Meanwhile, some protozoans use flagellum (plural: flagella), a whip-like structure attached
to their cell, in order to move. The number and appearance of the flagellum also differ
across different groups. Notable flagellated organisms include two disease-causing
organisms: Giardia lamblia (Figure 4), which causes intestinal diseases in humans, and
Trichomonas vaginalis (Figure 5), which causes a sexually-transmitted disease.

Some protozoans developed shorter hair-like projections called cilia for movement.
Compared to the flagella, these cilia are much smaller and more numerous, usually
covering the entirety of the organism. Movement using cilia can be compared to how boats
move using oars. A notable ciliated organism is Paramecium (see Figure 6), which is known
to control populations of organisms in bodies of water by feeding on bacteria or smaller
protists.

However, not all protozoans are capable of movement. This includes the Plasmodium
species, a blood parasite which causes the tropical disease malaria. This organism has a
complicated life cycle which involves undergoing different life stages in both the mosquito
and their human host.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the table to compare and contrast the different

representative organisms of protists in terms of the given characteristics.
MEANS OF MODE OF
ORGANISM CELLULARITY
LOCOMOTION NUTRITION

Entamoeba histolytica

foraminifera

Giardia lamblia

Paramecium

Plasmodium

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GRADED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

INSTRUCTIONS: Answer what is asked in each segment.

A. MATCHING TYPE. Identify the organism being described. Write only the letter of
your answer (refer to the choices below).

ORGANISM
A. foraminifera D. Giardia lamblia
B. Plasmodium E. Entamoeba histolytica
C. Paramecium F. Trichomonas vaginalis

____ 1. This is a flagellated protist which causes intestinal disease in humans.

____ 2.The shells of this organism often become fossilized in sedimentary rocks.

____ 3.This organism uses pseudopodia for locomotion and causes amebic dysentery.

____ 4.This organism has a complex life cycle in mosquitoes and humans and causes
the blood-borne disease malaria.

____ 5.This is a ciliated protist known to feed on bacteria and smaller protists,
controlling their population in the ecosystem.

B. IDENTIFICATION. Identify the term being described.

1. This is used to describe an organism which can be both autotrophic and

heterotrophic. _____________

2. The name of this group of protists literally means “the first

animals”._____________

3. This refers to foraminiferan shells which become fossilized in sedimentary

rocks._____________

4. According to a theory regarding the origin of eukaryotes, this organelle is

believed to have developed from a bacterium. _____________

5. The pseudopodia are extensions of this part of the cell. _____________

In Summary
■ Protists refer to organisms that are not classified as fungi, animals, or plants. They were
once classified into one group but are now distributed among supergroups of eukaryotes.
■ Protists are among the diverse group of eukaryotes in the sense that distinct groups have
different characteristics with one another.
■ Some protists are autotrophic and can perform photosynthesis. These protists serve as the
base of ecological food chains and produce a significant portion of the planet’s oxygen.
Some protists are heterotrophic and eat other organisms for survival. Lastly, some protists
can either be autotrophic or heterotrophic, depending on environmental conditions and
availability of food.
■ Animal-like protists can be grouped by their means of locomotion.

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Albarico, J. (PSHS-CBZRC), THINK Framework. Based on Science Links by E.G. Ramos and N. Apolinario,
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Servier Medical Art (2013) Entamoeba histolytica (01). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Entamoeba_histolytica_(01).png

Servier Medical Art (2013) Giardia intestinalis trophozoite. Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giardia_intestinalis_trophozoite.png

Servier Medical Art (2013) Trichomonas vaginalis (02). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trichomonas_vaginalis_(02).png

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