Protozoa Flashcards
Why are many protozoa traits uncharacteristic of eukaryotes?
Because they were the first eukaryotic organisms
All protozoa are _______
Chimeric
What are chimeras?
Organisms with tissues of two or more genetically different types
Have a mixture of characters
Name two organelles that protozoa may have that give diverse characteristics compared to eukaryotes.
Chloroplasts
Flagella
Name two features of protozoa that give the diverse characteristics.
No mitochondria
Multiple nuclei
- Macronuclei
- Micronuclei
What diseases are caused by protozoa?
Malaria
Sleeping sickness
Toxoplamosis
Why are protozoa hard to classify?
Because they contain lots of non-coding DNA
Explain how eukaryotes may have evolved from prokaryotes.
Parts of the plasma membrane folded back into the cell cytoplasm creating membrane bound organelles
What is endosymbiosis?
Smaller prokaryotic cells were engulfed by larger cells
The smaller cell evolved into organelles as it developed a symbiotic relationship with the host cell
What organelles are found in protozoa?
Nucleus Cilia or flagella Golgi Mitochondria Lysosomes Food vacuoles
What are the functions of structures that are present in protozoa but not all eukaryotes?
Store nutrients
Store enzymes
Control cell water content
Are protozoa unicellular or multicellular?
Unicellular
What are ciliates?
Protozoa with cilia covering most of their outer layer
What are flagellates?
Protozoa that have flagellum
What are amoeba?
Protozoa whose movement is via plasma gels
What are the features of amoeba?
- Can form any shape
- Excrete water and waste
- Motility enables them to engulf their prey
What are euglena?
Protozoa that are sensitive to light
What organelles are specific to euglena?
Chloroplasts and flagella
- They are photosynthetic
What are the features of primitive algae?
Unicellular
Phototrophic
Most common = diatoms
What is primitive algae used for?
Forensic investigation
What types of protozoa are slime moulds similar to?
Fungal and amoeba
What are the features of slime moulds?
- Adapt to the nutrient level of the environment its in
- Aggregate into slug-like colonies when nutrients are scarce
- Move be chemotaxis
What is chemotaxis?
Movement in a direction corresponding to a gradient of increasing or decreasing concentration of a particular substance
