Diversity of Life

EBIO 1010
Lecture 10
Eukaryotes, Protista

Eukaryotes
For 2 billion years largest organisms were microscopic
single-celled bacteria
First direct evidence for a new type of organism is found
from 1.5 bya
Up to 10 times large than bacteria
Contain internal membranes and membrane-bound structures

Fossil algae from Siberia (1 bya)

Eukaryotes
Indirect fossil evidence may put origins as far
back as 2.7 bya
Eukaryotes - Greek (true nucleus)
All organisms that are not prokaryotes, are
eukaryotes

Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes are
distinguished from
prokaryotes by:
Cytoskeleton

Compartmentalization
Nucleus
Organelles
Actin filaments = red,
microtubules = green,
nucleus = blue

Protists
Kingdom Protista - not monophyletic
Eukaryotes that cannot be placed into the animal,
plant or fungi kingdoms are lumped into Protista
Few uniting features besides being eukaryotic

Most diverse kingdom

About 200,000 species described

Grouped in 15 major protist phyla
Relatively artificial classification
May be several Kingdoms combined
60 protist lineages cannot be placed into the tree of life with
any confidence
Classification is in a state of flux!

Meet the Protists

The 7 major monophyletic protist groups

Protist Biology
Cell surface
Some protists only
surrounded by plasma
membrane (e.g.,
amoebas)
Others have extra-cellular
material
Some form strong cell walls
(e.g., diatoms use silica)

Some cells form cysts

Dormant forms with
resistant outer coverings to
survive harsh environments

Protist Movement
Locomotion
- Flagella (one to several)
- Cilia (usually many)
- Pseudopodia (false feet)
Pseudopodia (Amoeba)

Flagella (Euglena)

Cilia (Paramecium)

Protist Nutrition
Employ every form of
nutritional acquisition except
chemoautotrophy (only in
prokaryotes)

Photosynthetic protists are

autotrophs
All others are heterotrophs
Phagotrophs ingest visible
food particles
Osmotrophs ingest dissolved
food
Mixotrophs are both
photrophic and heterotrophic
(e.g., Euglena)

Amoeba

Protist Reproduction
Reproduce sexually or asexually, or both!
Asexual reproduction involves mitosis, but
differs from multicellular mitosis
Daughter cells of equal size
Budding

Sexual reproduction involves meiosis (the

production of haploid gametes)
Sexual reproduction allows for frequent genetic
recombination and greater variation

Multicellularity
Multicellularity - an important advancement in
evolution
Evolved independently multiple times

Single eukaryote cells began associating with

each other - forming colonies
Colonial protists bridge the gap between uni- and
multicellularity

Individuals within the colony assumed different

duties taking on the characteristics of an
individual
Some cells devote all their energy to a single task

Diplomonads and Parabasalids

Closely related to the early, now extinct ancestral
eukaryotic cell
Flagellated
Lack mitochondria
May have lost their mitochondria, rather than never
acquiring them

Diplomonads and Parabasalids

Diplomonads
- Two nuclei
- Giardia intestinalis

Parabasalids
- Undulating membranes
- Some live in the gut of
termites and digest cellulose
- Trichomonas vaginalis
Most common protozoan infection
180 million new infections worldwide
each year
7.4 million in USA

Euglenozoa
Used to be classified
as an animal (-zoa
ending)
One of the first freeliving protists with
mitochondria

About 1/3 contain

choloroplasts and are
photosynthetic
When the lights go out
some become
heterotrophic

Trypanosoma

Euglena

Euglenozoa
A second group of Euglenozoa:
Kinetoplastids
Many are parasitic
Leishmaniasis - transmitted by sand flies
About 1.5 million new cases each year

Chagas - transmitted by insect vectors

Also transmitted by blood transfusions
90 million people at risk in the New World

Skin sore from

leishmaniasis

Trypanosomiasis - African sleeping

sickness
Transmitted by tsetse flies in central Africa
50,000-70,000 people currently infected
Tsetse fly feeding on
human

Alveolata
Includes:
Phylum Dinoflagellata
Phylum Apicomplexa
Phylum Ciliophora (ciliates)

All in the same clade despite diverse modes of locomotion

All have flattened
vesicles (alveoli) that
function in membrane
transport

Dinoflagellates
Photosynthetic
Two flagella
Some are luminous and
twinkle in the ocean at night
Cause red tide

Dinoflagellates
Red tides caused by bloom of dinoflagellates
Pigments cause water to turn red
Produce toxins and cause respiratory failure in
vertebrates
Fish, birds, marine mammals often affected

Gymnopodium

Apicomplexans
Spore-forming parasites on animals
Often have complex life cycles with sexual and
asexual phases and different hosts
E.g., Plasmodium - causes malaria
In 2010, 216 million cases worldwide,
killing 655,000 people

Ciliates
Fig. 29.16

Heterotrophic,
unicellular protists
Large number of cilia
(beating hairs)
Cilia can become
fused into sheets,
spikes, and rods that
can be used as
mouths, paddles,
teeth, or feet
Paramecium

Stramenopila
Phylum Phaeophyta (brown algae)
Phylum Bacillarophyta (diatoms)
Oomycetes (water molds)

Phaeophyta: Brown Algae

The largest protists

Have a complex life cycle with a large multicellular stage
Look like plants, but do not have complex tissues
Are the base of important marine ecosystems

Phylum Bacillarophyta: Diatoms

Fig. 29.21

Unicellular
Two silica shells,
one fitting inside the
other like boxes
with lids
Photosynthetic

Oomycetes
Either parasites or saprobes (feed on dead
organic matter)
Formerly considered fungi (-mycetes ending)
E.g., Phytophthora infestans - responsible for
the Irish potato famine (1845-1847)
400,000 deaths, 2 million emigrated

Fig. 29.23

Rhodophyta
Page 575

Red algae
Used for many
commercial
purposes
Wrap sushi rolls
Thicken ice cream
and cosmetics

Some evidence for

a close relationship
with Chlorophyta
Photosynthetic similar chloroplast
origin to green
algae

Fig. 29.23

Choanoflagellida
Page 576

Similar to the
ancestor of animals
Single emergent
flagellum exactly
matched by the cells
of sponges (early
animals)

Feeding cells
(choanocytes)
on sponge

Choanoflagellates

Protists of unknown origin

Phylum Actinopoda (radiolarans)
- Glassy exoskeletons

Phylum Amoebozoa (amoebas)

- Move by pseudopodia

Actinosphaerium

Amoeba proteus

Protists of unknown origin

Phylum Foraminifera
Heterotrophic, marine, resemble tiny snails
Often have well preserved fossil records (200 my)
Fig. 29.28

Foraminifera

White Cliffs of Dover