Chapter 28 The Origins of Eukaryotic Diversity
Objectives
| Protists Are Extremely Diverse | |||
| 1. | Explain why the kingdom Protista is no longer considered a legitimate taxonomic group. | ||
| 2. | Describe the different nutritional strategies of protists. | ||
| 3. | Describe the three ecological categories of protists. Explain why the terms protozoa and algae are not useful as taxonomic categories. | ||
| 4. | Describe the evidence that supports the theory that mitochondria and plastids evolved by serial endosymbiosis. Explain which living organisms are likely relatives of the prokaryotes that gave rise to mitochondria and plastids. | ||
| 5. | Describe the evidence that suggests that mitochondria were acquired before plastids in eukaryotic evolution. | ||
| 6. | Explain the role of secondary endosymbiosis in the evolution of photosynthetic protists. | ||
| A Sample of Protistan Diversity | |||
| 7. | Describe the reduced mitochondria of diplomonads. Explain why this group is successful despite this feature. | ||
| 8. | Explain how trypanosomes avoid detection by the human immune system. | ||
| 9. | Explain why Plasmodium continues to pose a great risk to human health despite modern medical advances. | ||
| 10. | Describe the process and significance of conjugation in ciliate life cycles. | ||
| 11. | List three differences between oomycetes and fungi. | ||
| 12. | Describe the life cycle,
ecology, and impact on humans of the following stramenopiles: a. downy mildew b. diatoms c. kelp |
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| 13. | Describe how amoeboid protists move and feed. | ||
| 14. | Explain why foraminiferans and gymnamoebas are not considered to be closely related, although both are amoebas. | ||
| 15. | Compare the life cycles and ecology of plasmodial and cellular slime molds. | ||
| 16. | Explain the problem faced by Dictyostelium aggregates of constraining “cheaters” that never contribute to the stalk of the fruiting body. Discuss how research on this topic may lead to insights into the evolution of multicellularity. | ||
| 17. | Explain the basis for the proposal for a new “plant” kingdom, Viridiplantae. | ||
| 18. | Describe three mechanisms by which large size and complexity have evolved in chlorophytes. | ||
