Study List For Protists Lab

General Biological Terms and Concepts

Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Nutrition

Organisms can be classified based on how they obtain energy and carbon for growth.

• Autotrophic: Organisms that produce their own food from inorganic substances. Photoautotrophs use light energy (e.g., plants, cyanobacteria).

• Heterotrophic: Organisms that obtain energy by consuming other organisms or organic matter (e.g., animals, fungi, many bacteria).

Binomial Nomenclature

Binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species using two names:

• The genus name (capitalized, italicized or underlined)

• The specific epithet (lowercase, italicized or underlined)

• Example: Homo sapiens

Representative Protists and Their Features

Euglena

Euglena is a genus of single-celled protists with both plant-like and animal-like characteristics.

• Flagellum (plural: flagella): whip-like structure for movement

• Photosynthetic: contains chloroplasts for photosynthesis

• Stigma (eye spot): detects light

• Contractile vacuole: regulates water balance

• Nucleus: contains genetic material (often hard to see)

Amoeba

Amoeba are single-celled protists known for their flexible shape and movement.

• Pseudopodia (singular: pseudopodium): extensions of the cell for movement and feeding

• Cytoplasmic streaming: movement of the cell's contents

• Contractile vacuole: expels excess water

• Nucleus: contains DNA

Paramecium

Paramecium are ciliated protists commonly found in freshwater environments.

• Cilia: short hair-like structures for movement

• Contractile vacuole: osmoregulation

• Macronucleus vs. Micronucleus: two types of nuclei with different functions

• Oral groove: feeding structure

Trichonympha

Trichonympha is a symbiotic protist found in the guts of termites.

• Engages in mutualistic symbiosis with termites, aiding in cellulose digestion

Trypanosoma

Trypanosoma is a genus of parasitic protists known for causing diseases such as sleeping sickness.

• Symbiotic (parasitic) relationship with hosts

• Nucleus and flagellum present

Kingdom Plantae: Plant Cell Structures and Types

Photosynthetic Organisms

Plants are photoautotrophic, using sunlight to produce organic molecules from CO2 and water.

Representative Plant Cells and Structures

• Elodea leaf: shows chloroplasts

  • In distilled water (hypotonic): cells are turgid

  • In 10% NaCl (hypertonic): plasmolysis occurs

• Potato cells: show amyloplasts (starch storage organelles)

  • Stain purple with iodine (IKI)

• Red bell pepper: shows chromoplasts

  • Chromoplasts are plastids with pigments other than green (yellow, orange, red)

Other Key Plant Cell Vocabulary

• Turgor pressure: pressure of the cell contents against the cell wall

• Central vacuole: large organelle for storage and maintaining cell rigidity

• Cytoplasmic streaming: movement of cytoplasm within the cell

• Plastids: organelles involved in synthesis and storage (chloroplasts, amyloplasts, chromoplasts)

Kingdom Animalia: Animal Cell Types and Structures

Heterotrophic Nutrition and Internal Digestion

Animals are heterotrophic, obtaining nutrients by ingesting and digesting other organisms.

Representative Animal Cells

• Neuron (from bovine/cow spinal cord)

  • Cell body contains nucleus

  • Nucleus has nucleolus (darkly staining region)

  • Many projections (dendrites, axons) for communication

• Skeletal muscle cell (striated muscle)

  • Banding pattern visible at high magnification

  • Each cell has multiple nuclei

• Human blood smear

  • Red blood cells (RBCs): lack nucleus at maturity, contain hemoglobin

  • White blood cells (WBCs): have nucleus, stain blue

Kingdom Fungi: Structure and Reproduction

Fungal Anatomy and Life Cycle

• Rhizopus (bread mold) observed on dissecting scope

  • Mycelium: mass of white fibers (hyphae)

  • Hypha (plural: hyphae): individual filament

  • Sporangia: black dots, produce spores for reproduction

• Prepared slide of Rhizopus: shows individual hyphae and sporangia

• White button mushroom gills: sporangia at edges of gills

Other Fungal Vocabulary

• Hyphae, mycelium, sporangia (singular: sporangium)

• Extracellular digestion: enzymes break down food outside the organism

• Heterotrophic: obtain nutrients from organic matter

• Chitin in cell walls: structural polysaccharide

Prokaryotic Cells: Bacteria and Their Diversity

General Terms and Metabolic Types

• Heterotrophic: obtain energy from organic compounds

• Decomposers: break down dead organic matter

• Autotrophic: produce their own food

• Photoautotrophic: use light energy

• Chemoautotrophic: use chemical energy

Bacterial Cell Wall and Shapes

• Cell walls made of peptidoglycan

• Common shapes:

  • Bacillus: rod-shaped

  • Coccus: spherical

  • Spirillum: spiral-shaped (like a corkscrew)

Classification Table: Bacterial Shapes and Examples

Shape	Example Genus/Species
Coccus	Streptococcus
Bacillus	Lactobacillus, Bacillus anthracis, E. coli
Spirillum	Spirillum

Heterotrophic Bacteria

• Cocci: e.g., Streptococcus

• Bacilli: e.g., Lactobacillus, Bacillus anthracis, E. coli

• Spirillum: spiral-shaped bacteria

Photoautotrophic Bacteria (Cyanobacteria)

• All are cyanobacteria (photosynthetic)

• Can fix carbon by forming sugars from CO2 using sunlight

• Can fix nitrogen by forming NH3 from N2 gas, often in specialized cells called heterocysts

Examples of Cyanobacteria

• Gloeocapsa

• Oscillatoria

• Nostoc: has heterocysts for nitrogen fixation

• Anabaena: has heterocysts for nitrogen fixation

Additional info:

• Heterocyst: a specialized nitrogen-fixing cell formed by some filamentous cyanobacteria

• Plasmolysis: process in which cells lose water in a hypertonic solution

• Turgid: state of being swollen or firm due to water uptake