2. Giardia intestilanis
• A diplomonad parasite
that can infect people
when they drink water
contaminated with feces
containing the cysts of
the parasite. Drinking
such water – even from a
seemingly pristine stream
– can cause severe
diarrhea. Boiling the
water kills the parasite.
CC image via http://abouthealt-h.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/Giardia-Intestinalis5.jpg
3. Trypanosoma brucei
• Protists of the kinetoplastids have
a single, large mitochondrion that
contains an organized mass of
DNA called a kinetoplast. These
protists include species that feed
on prokaryotes in freshwater,
marine, and moist terrestrial
ecosystems, as well as species
that parasitze animals, plants,
and other protists. One example,
Trypanosoma brucei causes
sleeping sickness in humans, a
neurological disease that is
invariably fatal if it is not treated.
The trypanosomes infect humans
via the bite of a carrier organism,
the African tsetse fly.
CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:
Trypanosoma_sp._PHIL_613_lores.jpg
4. Trichomonas vaginalis
• Trichomonas vaginalis is the
best known parabasalid
(Excavates that have reduced
mitochondria and generate
some energy anaerobically,
releasing hydrogen gas as a by-
product). T. vaginalis is a
sexually transmitted parasite
that infects some 5 million
people every year. It moves
along the mucus-coated lining
of the human rproductive and
urinary tracts by moving its
flagella and by undulating part
of its plasma membrane.
• CC image via http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/148029/530wm/C0085110-
Trichomonas_Vaginalis_SEM-SPL.jpg
5. Plasmodium malariae
• This important pathogen
is part of the
Chromalveolata
supergroup. It is
significant because it
causes malaria among
humans. It causes fevers
of three-day intervals;
hence it is commonly
called quartan malaria.
• CC image via
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mature_Plasmodium_malariae_sc
hizont_PHIL_2715_lores.jpg
6. Phytophthora infestens
• This oomycete is part of the
Chromalveolata
supergroup. It is known for
causing a potato disease
known as “late blight”
which turns the stalk and
stem of potato plants to
black slime. Late blight
contributed to the
devastating potato famine
in 19th century Ireland, in
which millions of people
died and were forced to
• CC image via http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/images/phy-oo.gif
leave Ireland.
7. Pfiesteria shumwayae
• Pfiesteria shumwayae is a
dinoflagellate that beats its
spiral flagellum, which lies
in a groove that encircles
the cell, makes this
alveolate spin. The
dinoflagellates are
characterized by cells that
are reinforced by cellulose
plates. Two flagella located
in perpendicular grooves in
this “armor” make
dinoflagellates spin as they
• CC image via
http://www.vims.edu/research/departments/eaah/programs/pfiesteria_re move through the water.
search/resources/images/index.php
8. Globigerina falconensis
• This radiolarian’s “needles” are
thin pseudopia. The pseudopia of
these mostly marine protists
radiate from the central body and
are reinforced by bundles of
microtubules. The microtubules
are covered by a thin layer of
cytoplasm, which engulfs smaller
microorganisms that become
attached to the pseudopodia. In
some species, during the day, the
algae are transported to the tips
of the pseudopia where they can
photosynthesize, and drawn back
in for the night.
• CC image via http://skepticwonder.fieldofscience.com/2009/11/sunday-protist-
assorted-forams.html
9. Postelsia palmaeformis
• More commonly known as
the sea palm, Postelsia
palmaeformis lives on rocks
along the coas of the
northwestern United States
and Western Canada. The
term thallus refers to an
algal body that is plantlike,
but lacks true roots, stems,
and leaves. The thallus of
this brown alga is well
adapted to maintaining a
firm foothold despite the
• CC image via http://www.botany.ubc.ca/martone/postelsia.jpg
crashing surf.
10. Porphyra yezoensis
• Porphyra is a multicellular
red algae, commonly
referred to as seaweed, in
the Archaeplastida
supergroup. Porphyra
(Japonese “Nori”) are the
paper-thin, glossy sheets
used to make a mineral-rich
wrap for rice, seafood, and
vegetables in sushi. The
harvested seaweed is
spread on bamboo screens
• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nori.jpg
to dry into the crispy sheets.
11. Chlamydomonas nivalis
• The simplest chlorophytes of
green algae are unicellular
organisms such as
Chlamydomonas, which
resemble the gametes and
zoospores of more complex
chlorophytes. Some
chlorophytes have even
adapted to snowy habitats.
Chlamydomonas nivalis can
form dense algal blooms on
high-altitude glaciers and
snowfields, where its reddish
pigments produce an effect
• CC image via
called “watermelon snow”.
http://www.nicerweb.com/bio1903/Locked/media/ch28/28_29Watermelo
nSnow.jpg
12. Ulva lactuca
• This edible seaweed has a
multicellular thallus
differentiated into leaflike
blades. Its rootlike holdfast
anchors the alga against
turbulent waves and tides.
The formation of true
multicellular bodies by cell
division and differentiation
demonstrates how larger
size and greater complexity
evolved in choroplasts.
• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ulva_lactuca.jpeg
13. Caulerpa prolifera
• Caulerpa, is an intertidal
chlorophyte in the green
algae subgroup of
Archaeplastida. The
branched filaments lack
cross walls, and thus are
multinucleate. In effect, the
thallus is one huge
supercells. This repeated
division of nuclei with no
cytoplasmic division
contributed to the evolution
of larger and more complex
choropytes.
• CC image via http://www.reefcorner.com/images/FeatherCaulerpa.jpg
14. Entamoeba Histolytica
• Humans are host to at leas
six species of
Entamoeba, but only one, E.
Histolytica, is known to be
pathogenic. E. Histolytica
causes amebic dysentery
and is spread via
contaminated drinking
water, food, or eating
utensils. Responsible for up
to 100,000 deaths
worldwide every year, the
disease is the third-leading
cause of death due to
• CC image via http://elsalvadorexperience.tumblr.com/
eukaryotic parasites, after
malaria and schistosomiasis.
15. Dictyostelium discoideum
• Dictyostelium, a cellular
slime mold, is an individual
organism. The feeding stage
of these organisms consists
of solitary cells that
function individually, but
when food is depleted, the
cells form an aggregate that
functions as a unit. Cellular
slime molds differ from
plasmodial slime molds in
• CC image via being haploid organisms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dictyostelium_Fruiting_Bodies.JPG
16. Fuligo septica
• Fuligo septica, better known
as the dog vomit slime
mold, is part of the
subgroup Amoebozoans.
Plasmodial slime molds
form a single mass of
cytoplasm, called a
plasmodium, that is
undivided and that contains
many diploid nuclei. This
supercell is the product of
mitotic nuclear divisions
that are not followed by
• CC image via cytokinesis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dog_vomit_slime_mold.jpg
