Chapter 19 Protists & Fungi

A protist is a eukaryote that is not an animal, a plant, or a fungus. They are found in the Domain Eukarya, Kindom

However, Protists can be animal-like, plant-like or fungus-like.

Euplote

The many groups of animal-like protists are often called protozoa. Animal-like protists like the Euplotes are heterotrophs; organisms that consume other organisms, all animal-like protists are single-celled, while all animals—no matter how simple—are multicellular 

a.) Cilia, are short, hairlike structures on the cell surface. Cilia help an organism to move and capture food. 

b.) Some protozoa move by changing shape, and forming pseudopods. A pseudopod


c.) flagella are tail-like structures that help single-celled organisms move. 

Some Protists that below to the genus Plasmodium cause disease like the Human Malaria.

Photosynthetic plantlike protists are called algae  such as the Pediastrum seen to the right. Although these protists do not have roots, stems, leaves or other plant tissue they do have have chloroplasts. Plantlike protists may be either single celled, colonial, or multi cellular

Funguslike protists, such as slime molds or water molds, decompose dead organisms. 

Slime molds are protists that have both funguslike and animal-like traits. They are common on dead leaves and under logs.Water molds are protists that are made of branching strands of cells. They are common in freshwater habitats. Many water molds are decomposers, but some are parasites of plants or fish. 

Fungi  eukaryotic organisms that get food by breaking down organic matter and absorbing the nutrients, reproduce by means of spores, and have no means of movement.

fungal cell walls are made of a substance called chitin (KYT-uhn) this substance is also found in the shells of insects, but is not found in plants

• Primitive fungi The simplest type of fungi are called the primitive fungi. Most live in the water and have spores with flagella that help them to move. 
• Sac fungi These fungi all form a sac that contains spores for reproduction. The yeasts that are used to make bread rise and as the source of the antibiotic penicillin are both sac fungi. 

• Bread molds Most bread molds get their food by decomposing dead or decaying organic matter. However, at least one group of bread molds gets food through a symbiotic relationship. Mycorrhizae (my-kuh-RY-zuh) are fungi that live in a mutualistic relationship with the roots of certain plants. These fungi change nitrogen into a form that plants can use. The plant gets usable nitrogen. The fungus gets food and a place to live. 

• Club fungi These fungi have fruiting bodies shaped like clubs. This group includes mushrooms, rusts and smuts, which are two types of fungi that cause diseases in plants. 

Mycorrhizae (my-kuh-RY-zuh) are fungi that live in a mutualistic relationship with the roots of certain plants.  

• Fungi reproduce sexually and asexually.

• They reproduce asexually by producing spores in sporangia, which are spore-forming structures at the tips of their hyphae.

• Other forms of asexual reproduction include budding. 

**Sexual reproduction of a fungi occurs when two mating cells from hyphae of different strains of fungi can mate by 

fusing together  and forming a spore stalk.

•  Fungi as Decomposers, they can break down dead material, such as leaves, wood, and animals. Through decomposition, fungi return nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and minerals back into the soil. 

A lichen (LY-kuhn) is a mutualistic relationship between a fungus and algae or photosynthetic bacteria.

• Some fungi can be pathogens, or organisms that cause disease. Fungi can cause disease in animals, including humans. For example, fungi cause athlete’s foot and ringworm.

• Fungi as Mutualists, Some insects also have mutualisms with fungi. A certain type of ant that lives in Central and South America, called the leafcutter ant, actually grows fungi in a type of garden.