Protists are eukaryotes that are not members of the plant, animal, or fungi kingdoms. How are protists related to other eukaryotes? ... Some protists move by changing their cell shape, and some move by means of specialized organelles. Other protists do not move actively but are carried by wind, water, or other organisms.

Why are protists grouped with eukaryotes?

The only real constant rule is that all protists are eukaryotes, meaning that they are organisms with more complex cells than bacteria. ... Most protists have a single defined nucleus holding the bulk of their DNA, though some ciliates have multiple nuclei and flagellates do not have a defined nucleus.

Did protists evolve from eukaryotes?

Scientists think that protists are the oldest eukaryotes. Protists most likely evolved from prokaryotic cells, as explained by the endosymbiotic theory. This theory is well-supported by evidence.

How do protists interact with other organisms?

Photosynthetic protists serve as producers of nutrition for other organisms. Protists like zooxanthellae have a symbiotic relationship with coral reefs; the protists act as a food source for coral and the coral provides shelter and compounds for photosynthesis for the protists.

Is protists prokaryotic or eukaryotic?

protist, any member of a group of diverse eukaryotic, predominantly unicellular microscopic organisms. They may share certain morphological and physiological characteristics with animals or plants or both.

Protists and Fungi

28 related questions found

Are protist and Protista the same thing?

is that protist is (microbiology) any of the eukaryotic unicellular organisms including protozoans, slime molds and some algae; historically grouped into the kingdom protoctista while protoctist is any of several unicellular protists, of the kingdom formerly named protoctista'' but now named ''protista .

Are protists eukaryotic or prokaryotic and why?

Protists are eukaryotic organisms. Kingdom Protista contains all of the eukaryotic organisms that are not plants, animals, or fungi.

Are protists eukaryotic?

In contrast to prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells are highly organized. Bacteria and archaea are prokaryotes, while all other living organisms — protists, plants, animals and fungi — are eukaryotes.

Do protists have lysosome?

Some protists, for instance, engulf other cells for food. In a process called phagocytosis, the protist surrounds a food particle and engulfs it within a vesicle. ... The enzymes break the food down into smaller parts for use by the protist. Lysosomes, however, are found in all kinds of cells.

How do protists obtain energy and interact with their ecosystems?

Coral polyps obtain nutrition through a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates. Protists are essential sources of nutrition for many other organisms. In some cases, as in plankton, protists are consumed directly. Alternatively, photosynthetic protists serve as producers of nutrition for other organisms.

How do protists evolve from prokaryotes?

Scientists hypothesize that the first protists evolved from prokaryotes. Evidence indicates that eukaryotic organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts originated as prokaryotes that lived inside other, larger prokaryotic cells. This hypothesis is called the endosymbiotic hypothesis or the Theory of Endosymbiosis.

Are cyanobacteria related to chloroplasts?

Chloroplasts are one of many types of organelles in the plant cell. They are considered to have evolved from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. Mitochondria are thought to have come from a similar endosymbiosis event, where an aerobic prokaryote was engulfed.

Why do protists not belong in any kingdom classification?

Protists are an unusual group of organisms that were put together because they don't really seem to belong to any other group. Some protists perform photosynthesis like plants while others move around and act like animals, but protists are neither plants nor animals.

How are unicellular protists and multicellular protists similar?

Most protists are so small that they can be seen only with a microscope. Protists are mostly unicellular (one-celled) eukaryotes. ... Multicellular protists, however, do not show cellular specialization or differentiation into tissues. That means their cells all look the same and, for the most part, function the same.

Why are protists grouped together?

Organisms in the Kingdom Protista are very different from each other. They are grouped together partly because they just don't fit into any other kingdom.

Why is Protista the most diverse kingdom?

Kingdom Protista is said to be the most diverse kingdom, because each of its members are so individual from each other. If an organism does not belong any particular kingdom, it goes into kingdom Protista. This miscellanous grouping causes the organisms in the kingdom to be very different from each other.

What do prokaryotes and eukaryotes have in common?

Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have structures in common. All cells have a plasma membrane, ribosomes, cytoplasm, and DNA. ... The cytoplasm is all the contents of the cell inside the cell membrane, not including the nucleus.

What organelles are present in eukaryotic cells?

In addition to the nucleus, eukaryotic cells may contain several other types of organelles, which may include mitochondria, chloroplasts, the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, and lysosomes.

Is Protista autotrophic or heterotrophic?

Protista is both heterotroph and autotroph, and they are ALL eukaryotes. "That means that most of their metabolic processes(chemical reactions) take place inside their membrane-bound organelles. (textbook). There are three different type of things that are called Protists: protozoans, algae, and molds.

What characteristic distinguishes most animal-like protists from other protists?

What characteristic distinguishes most animal-like protists from other protists? Most can move to get food. What characteristic distinguishes plant-like protists from other protists? They use pigments to capture energy from the sun.

What is a protist as in the protist kingdom?

A protist (/ˈproʊtɪst/) is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus.

Which of the following features are associated with Protista?

Complete answer: Protista are mainly aquatic organisms. Their body is unicellular and eukaryotic. In the eukaryotic cells, a true nucleus, as well as membrane-bound cell organelles, are also present.

Is Protista eukaryotic and unicellular?

The kingdom Protista contains the single-celled eukaryotes in contrast to the bacteria which are examples of the prokaryotic cell type. Protists are a diverse group of organisms that are either unicellular or multicellular without highly specialized tissues.

Are mosses eukaryotic?

Moss is an eukaryotic organism, whose cells contain many intracellular organelles including mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum, the nucleus, chloroplasts, the vacuole, Golgi and peroxisomes.

Why are protists not prokaryotes?

Prokaryotes are usually single-celled organisms. They have plasma membrane surrounding the cell but no membrane bound organelles such as the mitochondria, nucleus or Golgi bodies. ... Protists are all eukaryotes and therefore all have cell organelles, most of them are single-celled but multi-celled form exists.