Eukaryotic Diversity Flashcards
What are the major characteristics of protozoans?
- unicellular, nonphotosynthetic, motile microorganisms that live in a variety of habitats.
- free-living or parasitic and can cause illness
- asexual or sexual reproduction or both
- all have a plasma membrane
- some lack some organelles or they can have unique organelles
- some have pellicles, they can have an ectoplasm and an endoplasm
- have different structures they use for feeding: cytostome and a cytoproct
- heterotrophic
- have either flagella, cilia, or pseudopodia that help them move.
- some have contractile vacuoles and some could alter or lack mitochondria.
What are pellicles?
a membrane that contains protein bands that for protection
What are the layers under the cytoplasm that are found in some protozoans?
1) ectoplasm (outer gel layer)
2) endoplasm (fluid region of cytoplasm).
What is a cytosome?
takes in food through the process of phagocytosis
What is a cytoproct?
functions in the exocytosis of wastes in the protozoa
What are contractile vacuoles?
get rid of excess water in the membrane
What is a trophozoite?
active, feeding, and growing form of a protozoan
What is a cyst?
inactive form of a protozoan that contains a protective wall
- when the environmental conditions become harsh for trophozoite it becomes a cyst
What are fornicata?
contain four free flagella, no mitochondria, and a pair of equal nuclei
- often parasitic and can form cysts
What is an example of fornicata?
Giardia lamblia: Causes diarrheal illness and is spread through water supplies that are contaminated by the cysts from feces.
What are parabasalids?
contain no mitochondria and four free flagella
- have one attached flagellum and basal bodies
- can either be parasitic or symbiotic
- DON’T form cysts
- have kinetoplastids (modified mitochondria)
- live in the guts of animals (endosymbionts)
What is an example of parabasalids?
Trichomonas vaginalis causes trichomoniasis which is a sexually transmitted disease.
What are euglenozoans?
photosynthetic or heterotrophic and contain flagella.
What are examples of euglenozoans?
1) Euglena
2) Trypanosoma (African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease)
3) Leishomania (causes Leishmaniasis)
What supergroup are fornicata, parabasalids, and euglenozoans a part of?
the supergroup excavata
What is african sleeping disease?
a disease caused by T.brucei that affects the blood and the brain
What is Chagas disease?
disease caused by T.cruzi that affects the heart tissue or digestive system tissue
What are apicomplexans?
intracellular parasites with an apical complex located at one end of the cell
- apical complex enables the parasite to enter host cells
- have complex life cycles that depend on being transmitted between various hosts
- can infect many kinds of animal cells.
What are examples of apicomplexans?
1) Plasmodium (Malaria)
2) Cryptosporidium parvum
3) Theileria (Babesia) microti
4) Toxoplasma gondii
What does plasmodium cause?
agent of malaria that is transferred via an insect vector
- malaria affects red blood cells and can lead to anemia as they lyse (MAJOR KILLER)
- the top eukaryotic pathogen.
What is Cryptosporidium parvum?
1) When cysts contaminate drinking water, this causes epidemic diarrhea
2) It causes intestinal symptoms.
What is Theileria (Babesia) microti?
1) Transmitted by a tick
2) Causes recurring fevers that could be fatal
What is Toxoplasma gondii?
1) Causes toxoplasmosis (associated with birth defects)
2) transmitted by undercooked meat, unwashed produce, cat feces
What are ciliates?
large and diverse group that is distinguished by the presence of cilia on the surfaces of cells
- cilia are used for locomotion and feeding
- some cilia can be non-motile
- cilia reproduce through conjugation.
What are examples of ciliates?
1) Balantidium coli
2) Paramecium
3) Stentor
What is Balantidium coli?
parasitic ciliate that causes intestinal illness in humans.
What is paramecium?
Contains a cytostome and a cytoproct that are clearly visible. They also have 2 nuclei and a contractile vacuole. They live in aquatic environments.
What is stentor?
Uses cilia for feeding and has a micronucleus and a macronucleus.
What supergroup do ciliates and apicomplexans belong to?
The supergroup Chromalveolata
What are entamoebas?
trophozoites and form cysts. They are parasitic or commensal species.
What are examples of entamoebas?
1) E. histolytica
2) Entamoeba (Amoebiasis)
3) Naegleria (Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis)
4) Acanthamoeba (Keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis)
What is E.histolytica?
number one cause of amoebic dysentery; it is transmitted by cysts found inside feces
What supergroup do entamoebas belong to?
amoebozoa
What are the helminths? Why are they unique among the “microbes”?
parasitic worms that can cause disease
- they can be seen with the naked eye and do not require a microscope to be seen
- they are included because their eggs and larvae can be microscopic
What are some examples of helminths?
1) Ascaris lumbricoides (Largest roundworm parasite found in the intestines of humans)
2) Enterobius vermicularis (Cause pinworm which is the most common nematode infection)
3) Tapeworms
What are the major characteristics of fungi?
- saprozoic with chitin cell walls
- unicellular or multicellular
- microscopic or macroscopic
- cell walls also contain ergosterols
- reproduce sexually through cross-or self-fertilization or reproduce asexually by mitosis
Compare and contrast yeast vs. molds?
Molds are multicellular and made up of hyphae. Hyphae can be septate or nonseptate. On the other hand, yeasts are unicellular fungi that reproduce asexually by budding. Yeasts form pseudohyphae made up of individual cells. They both contain a chitin cell wall, and they are both saprophytes.
What are zygomycetes?
type of fungi that is mainly saprophytes that have coenocytic hyphae
- also contain haploid nuclei
- use zygospores for sexual reproduction and sporangiospores for asexual reproduction
- vital as crop pathogens and for food science.
What is an example of zygomycetes?
Rhizopus stolonifer
What is Rhizopus stolonifer?
1) Bread mold
2) It causes rice seedling blight
What are ascomycetes?
- fungi that are used as food, can cause food to spoil, and can be human pathogens
- can have septate hyphae
- use ascospores that are sexually produced or use conidia, which are asexual spores
- some make an ascus that has ascospores inside an ascocarp.
What are examples of ascomycetes?
1) Edible mushrooms
2) Neurospora
3) Penicillium
4) Blastomyces dermatitidis
5) Candida albicans
What is penicillium?
it produces penicillin
What is Blastomyces dermatitidis?
it causes the respiratory infection blastomycosis
What is Candida albicans?
It causes vaginal yeast infections and other yeast infections
What are basidiomycetes?
- basidia produce basidiospores inside a basidiocarp
- basidiospores are produced by budding and basidiocarps are fruiting bodies
- important as food; they are also decomposers.
What are examples of basidiomycetes?
1) Rusts, puffballs, mushrooms
2) Cryptococcus neoformans
3) Amanita phalloides
What is Cryptococcus neoformans?
1) cause serious lung infections for those who have weakened immune systems.
2) it is a fungus that is usually found as yeast.
What is Amanita phalloides?
a poisonous mushroom that produces deadly toxins.
What are microsporidia?
obligate intracellular parasites that lack centrioles, mitochondria, and peroxisomes
- unicellular and their spores release a polar tubule
- the polar tubule is what allows the fungus to enter the cell as it pierces the cell membrane of the host cell
What is an example of microsporidia?
Enterocystozoan bieneusi.
What is Enterocystozoan bieneusi?
Causes cholecystitis and diarrhea
What is naegleria?
entamoeba (amoebozoa) that causes primary meningoencephalitis
- it gets up the nasal passages when swimming and reaches the brain
- it is rare but it is 98% fatal.
What are hyphae?
elongated cells
What is septate?
hyphae that have divisions between them, the cell wall and membrane separate them
What are psuedohyphae?
bulbos, elongated cells that are not true hyphae
What are conidia?
it is where spores are stored
What characterizes different groups of fungi?
how spores are housed
