BJU Biology Chapter 11, part 3 fungus-like protists

Blight

A disease of plants that causes rapid destruction of the leaves and stems, resulting in the death of the plant. Easily spread and can wipe out crops very quickly.

Pseudoplasmodium

A single colony of cellular slime molds that looks like a slimy slug. Although it appears and moves as a single organism, the cells retain their cell membranes and individuality.

Slime Molds

Live in cool, moist environments that are rich in organic matter like compost piles - play a large role as decomposer organisms - 2 phase life cycle includes feeding phase and reproductive phase - different appearance during different phases

fungus-like protists

No longer considered members of kingdom Fungi because their cell walls contain cellulose (NOT chitin) and they are motile - live in moist environments - heterotrophic - are important decomposers - have minimal tissue specialization

Water Molds

Often seen on dead fish or other floating dead organic material, and they appear as a branching filamentous growth of cells - Most are aquatic, although some do live in soil - responsible for many types of blight - cause of the potato famine

multinucleate

describes the plasmodium - cells walls dissolve and nuclei float around in a mass of cytoplasm

Plasmodium

formed from plasmodial slime molds during the feeding phase - organisms come together to form this giant blob that creeps along the ground and eats organic dead material - cell walls dissolve and nuclei float around in a mass of cytoplasm

Cellular Slime Molds

type of slime mold - live as amoeba-like unicellular organisms when food is plentiful - when food is scarce, the organisms gather together in a colony to form a pseudoplasmodium

Plasmodial Slime Molds

type of slime mold - looks like a cellular slime mold, but is acellular - starts like with amoeba looking cells, but during feeding phase, cells join together to form a plasmodium - which creeps along the ground like a giant blob and eats organic dead material