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Protist Lineages definitions Flashcards

Protist Lineages definitions
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  • Excavata
    A major group of unicellular eukaryotes, often lacking mitochondria, reproducing asexually, and including species like Diplomonads and Parabasalids, which use flagella for movement.
  • Diplomonads
    Anaerobic protists with two nuclei, reduced mitochondria lacking electron transport, and multiple flagella for movement.
  • Mitochondria
    Organelles in eukaryotic cells that generate ATP through aerobic respiration, often referred to as the cell's "powerhouses." They have their own DNA and are believed to have originated from symbiotic bacteria.
  • Flagella
    Long, whip-like structures used by cells for locomotion, often found in unicellular organisms and some multicellular organisms, enabling movement through liquid environments.
  • Parabasalids
    Flagellated protists lacking mitochondria, often parasitic, moving via undulating membranes.
  • Kinetoplastids
    Unicellular eukaryotes with a large mitochondrion containing a kinetoplast, often parasitic, causing diseases like sleeping sickness.
  • Chloroplasts
    Organelles in plant cells where photosynthesis occurs, converting light energy into chemical energy stored in glucose, using chlorophyll and other pigments.
  • Archaeplastida
    A monophyletic group of eukaryotes that includes green algae, red algae, and land plants, originating from a protist that engulfed a cyanobacterium through primary endosymbiosis.
  • Endosymbiosis
    A process where a eukaryotic cell engulfs another cell, leading to a symbiotic relationship, often resulting in the engulfed cell evolving into an organelle like mitochondria or chloroplasts.
  • Phycoerythrin
    A red photosynthetic pigment in red algae that masks chlorophyll's green color, allowing these algae to appear red and adapt to varying light conditions with depth.
  • Stramenopila
    A diverse group of protists characterized by their unique flagella with hair-like projections, including both unicellular and multicellular photosynthetic organisms like diatoms and brown algae.
  • Diatoms
    Unicellular photosynthetic protists encased in silica dioxide shells, contributing significantly to Earth's photosynthesis and carbon cycling.
  • Carotenoids
    Photosynthetic pigments in plants and algae that absorb light for photosynthesis, often giving yellow, orange, or red colors, and protect against photooxidative damage.
  • Alveolata
    Protists characterized by membrane-bound sacs (alveoli) beneath their plasma membrane, including dinoflagellates, apicomplexans, and ciliates, often involved in photosynthesis or parasitism.
  • Apicomplexans
    Parasitic alveolates with apical complex structures aiding host cell penetration, lacking cilia and flagella, and containing modified plastids from secondary endosymbiosis with red algae.