Taxonomy and Classification ❮ 157- Apicomplexa.These parasitesare the protists formerly known as sporozoans. They
spread from place to place in a small infectious form known as a sporozoite.They have
bothsexualandasexualstages, and their life cycle requires two different host species for
completion. An example of an apicomplexa is plasmodium,the causative agent of
malaria (two hosts—mosquitoes, then humans). - Zooflagellates.Theseheterotrophicprotists are known for their flagella,which they use to
move around. Like rhizopoda, they eat by phagocytosisand can range from being parasitic
to their hosts to living mutualisticallywith them. A member of this group is trypanosoma,
which is known to cause African sleeping sickness. - Ciliophora.Their name is fitting because these protists use ciliato travel from place to
place. They live in waterand contain two types of nuclei:amacronucleus(which con-
trols everyday activities) and many micronuclei (a function in conjugation).
A ciliaphora you may recognize is paramecium.
Fungus-Like Protists (Slime Molds and Water Molds)
This division includes protists that resemble fungi. Once again, we are going to provide a
list that contains basic information about some names that may help you on multiple-
choice questions. The most important things to remember are boldfacedoritalicized.
- Myxogastria.Theseheterotrophic, brightly colored protists include the plasmodial slime
moldsand are not photosynthetic. Unlike the acrasidae, they do not like to eat alone—
they eat and grow as a single clumped unicellularmass known as a plasmodium(same
name as the causative agent of malaria, but this entity does not cause malaria). This mass
ingests food by phagocytosis.When Mother Hubbard’s cupboard is bare and there is no
more food, the plasmodium stops growing and instead produces spores that allow the
protist to reproduce. - Acrasidae.Known to their closer friends as cellular slime molds,these protists have a
bit of a strange eating strategy. When there is plenty of food around, these organisms
eat alone as solitary beings, but when food becomes scarce, they clump together in a
manner similar to slime molds and work together as a unit. - Oomycota.Thesewater-moldprotists can be parasitesorsaprobes.They are able to
munch on their surrounding environment owing to the presence of filamentsknown as
hyphae, which release digestive enzymes. They are often multicellular, or coenocytic.
One difference between these organisms and actual fungi is that their cell wall is made
ofcellulose,and not chitinas seen in fungi.
Plant-Like Protists
This division includes protists that are mostly photosynthetic. All of these organisms con-
tain chlorophyll a. Focus your attention on the italicized points.
- Dinoflagellata.Protists known for having two flagellathat rest perpendicular to each other,
and which allow them to swim with a funky spinning motion that makes them the envy
of all other protist observers (or at least makes them really dizzy). Most dinoflagellates are
unicellular.These protists are very important producers in many aquatic food chains. - Golden algae.Known as the chrysophyta,these protists move through the use of flagella
and can also be found swimming among plankton. - Diatoms.These yellow and brown protists are also known as bacillariophyta and are a major
component of plankton. They mostly reproduce in an asexualfashion, although they do
rarely enter a sexuallife cycle. They have ornate wallsmade of silicato protect them. - Green algae.Known as chlorophyta,they have chlorophyll aandb. Most of these protists
live in freshwater and can be found among the algae that are part of the mutualistic
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