KINGDOM PROTISTA — VVVI CLASS NOTES
Point-wise notes based only on the textbook pages/photos you uploaded. Designed for quick memorisation
and for making a clean note copy.
Important coverage note: Your photos show pages 379–384, 386, 388 and 389. Pages 385 and 387 are not included,
so I have not invented their content. The chapter heading also mentions Plasmodium vivax/P. falciparum life cycle
and economic importance, but those details are not visible in the supplied photos.
1. PROTISTA — BASIC IDEA
• Kingdom Protista includes mainly unicellular, eukaryotic, microscopic organisms.
• Some protists possess cilia or flagella for movement.
• Protists are very diverse in form, so classification within the kingdom is difficult.
• Classification is based mainly on cell structure and organisation, organelles present, and reproductive
pattern.
• In the five-kingdom classification, Protista is divided into three major groups.
2. THREE MAJOR GROUPS OF PROTISTA
• Group A — Protistan algae (photosynthetic protists)
• Group B — Slime moulds (consumer–decomposer protists)
• Group C — Protozoan protists (animal-like protists)
3. GROUP A — PROTISTAN ALGAE (PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROTISTS)
• Plant-like protists.
• Very abundant in water and form phytoplankton.
• Perform photosynthesis.
• Based on pigments, storage compounds and reproductive cycle, they are divided into three phyla.
Phylum 1 — Pyrrophyta (Dinoflagellates)
• Unicellular algae with flagella.
• Most are motile.
• They whirl/spin while moving; hence called dinoflagellates.
• Generally photosynthetic and considered algae.
• Flagella help in mobility.
• Some are bioluminescent.
• Examples: Noctiluca, Ceratium, Glenodinium.
Phylum 2 — Chrysophyta
• Includes diatoms and golden-brown algae.
• Mainly marine.
• Form a major part of ocean phytoplankton.
• Have flagella, but can float because of light-storing lipids.
• Examples: Triceratium, Navicula, Pinnularia.
Phylum 3 — Euglenophyta (Euglena-like flagellates)
Protista & Paramecium VVVI Notes • Page 1
,• Flagellate organisms showing both plant and animal characters.
• Free-living, unicellular and flagellated.
• Have a long whip-like flagellum for swimming.
• Many species contain chlorophyll and perform photosynthesis.
• Found in aquatic habitats such as ditches, ponds, puddles and rivers.
• Examples: Euglena, Eutrephia, Trachelomonas.
4. GROUP B — SLIME MOULDS (CONSUMER–DECOMPOSER
PROTISTS)
• Neither plants, animals nor fungi.
• Peculiar protists that normally take the form of an amoeba.
• Can also develop fruiting bodies that release spores and sporangia like fungi.
• Saprophytic protists.
• Show creeping/amoeboid movement towards moisture and away from light.
• Heterotrophs.
• Examples: Physarum, Tubifera, Dictyostelium (as given in the supplied text).
5. GROUP C — PROTOZOAN PROTISTS
• Heterotrophic and show animal-like behaviour.
• Some are parasites living inside larger organisms.
• Most members do not have a defined shape.
• In the two-kingdom system, this group was regarded as phylum Protozoa.
6. GENERAL CHARACTERS OF PROTOZOAN PROTISTS
• 1. Habitat: Aquatic — fresh water or marine — or terrestrial in moist places. Some live inside other animals as
parasites; a few are saprophytes or commensals.
• 2. Form and structure: Minute unicellular organisms. Forms may be spherical, oval, spindle-shaped or irregular.
Body may be naked or surrounded by pellicle/shell.
• 3. Level of organisation: Simplest and most primitive animal-like organisms with protoplasmic level of
organisation. One cell performs fundamental life processes such as growth, metabolism, reproduction and
respiration.
• 4. Locomotion: By finger-like pseudopodia, whip-like flagella or hair-like cilia. Some parasitic protozoans lack
locomotory organelles.
• 5. Digestion: Occurs within food vacuoles in the cell.
• 6. Respiration: Gaseous exchange occurs through the general body surface/plasma membrane.
• 7. Excretion: Through the general body surface, temporary opening, or permanent opening called cytopyge.
• 8. Osmoregulation: Performed by contractile vacuoles. Freshwater forms have one or more contractile vacuoles.
Protista & Paramecium VVVI Notes • Page 2
, DIAGRAM 1 — SOME PROTOZOANS
Some protozoans: Euglena, Amoeba and Paramecium — copy this sketch
7. CLASSIFICATION OF PHYLUM PROTOZOA
• Protozoa are classified into four classes on the basis of locomotory organelles.
• 1. Sarcodina (Rhizopoda) — locomotory organelle: pseudopodia; example: Amoeba.
• 2. Ciliata — locomotory organelle: cilia; example: Paramecium.
• 3. Flagellata (Mastigophora) — locomotory organelle: flagella; example: Euglena/flagellates.
• 4. Sporozoa — no locomotory organelles; example: Plasmodium.
8. PHYLUM 1 — SARCODINA (RHIZOPODA)
• Mostly free-living in fresh water, seawater and damp soil; a few are parasites.
• Entamoeba histolytica is an endoparasite in the human intestine and causes amoebic dysentery by damaging
intestinal mucosa.
• Without pellicle; some forms have siliceous or calcareous shells.
• Foraminiferans and radiolarians may be multinucleated and can reach several centimetres in diameter.
• Pseudopodia are organelles for locomotion and food capture.
• Nutrition is holozoic (animal-like).
• Usually one nucleus is present; if more than one, the nuclei are alike.
• Asexual reproduction by binary fission or multiple fission; some show sexual reproduction by syngamy.
• Examples: Amoeba, Entamoeba.
9. PHYLUM 2 — CILIATA
• Mainly free-living in fresh and marine water; a few are parasites.
• Body is covered by pellicle, giving a definite shape; comparable to skin in higher animals.
• Body covered with cilia for locomotion and food capture.
• Heterotrophs; feed on smaller organisms such as bacteria and algae.
Protista & Paramecium VVVI Notes • Page 3
Point-wise notes based only on the textbook pages/photos you uploaded. Designed for quick memorisation
and for making a clean note copy.
Important coverage note: Your photos show pages 379–384, 386, 388 and 389. Pages 385 and 387 are not included,
so I have not invented their content. The chapter heading also mentions Plasmodium vivax/P. falciparum life cycle
and economic importance, but those details are not visible in the supplied photos.
1. PROTISTA — BASIC IDEA
• Kingdom Protista includes mainly unicellular, eukaryotic, microscopic organisms.
• Some protists possess cilia or flagella for movement.
• Protists are very diverse in form, so classification within the kingdom is difficult.
• Classification is based mainly on cell structure and organisation, organelles present, and reproductive
pattern.
• In the five-kingdom classification, Protista is divided into three major groups.
2. THREE MAJOR GROUPS OF PROTISTA
• Group A — Protistan algae (photosynthetic protists)
• Group B — Slime moulds (consumer–decomposer protists)
• Group C — Protozoan protists (animal-like protists)
3. GROUP A — PROTISTAN ALGAE (PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROTISTS)
• Plant-like protists.
• Very abundant in water and form phytoplankton.
• Perform photosynthesis.
• Based on pigments, storage compounds and reproductive cycle, they are divided into three phyla.
Phylum 1 — Pyrrophyta (Dinoflagellates)
• Unicellular algae with flagella.
• Most are motile.
• They whirl/spin while moving; hence called dinoflagellates.
• Generally photosynthetic and considered algae.
• Flagella help in mobility.
• Some are bioluminescent.
• Examples: Noctiluca, Ceratium, Glenodinium.
Phylum 2 — Chrysophyta
• Includes diatoms and golden-brown algae.
• Mainly marine.
• Form a major part of ocean phytoplankton.
• Have flagella, but can float because of light-storing lipids.
• Examples: Triceratium, Navicula, Pinnularia.
Phylum 3 — Euglenophyta (Euglena-like flagellates)
Protista & Paramecium VVVI Notes • Page 1
,• Flagellate organisms showing both plant and animal characters.
• Free-living, unicellular and flagellated.
• Have a long whip-like flagellum for swimming.
• Many species contain chlorophyll and perform photosynthesis.
• Found in aquatic habitats such as ditches, ponds, puddles and rivers.
• Examples: Euglena, Eutrephia, Trachelomonas.
4. GROUP B — SLIME MOULDS (CONSUMER–DECOMPOSER
PROTISTS)
• Neither plants, animals nor fungi.
• Peculiar protists that normally take the form of an amoeba.
• Can also develop fruiting bodies that release spores and sporangia like fungi.
• Saprophytic protists.
• Show creeping/amoeboid movement towards moisture and away from light.
• Heterotrophs.
• Examples: Physarum, Tubifera, Dictyostelium (as given in the supplied text).
5. GROUP C — PROTOZOAN PROTISTS
• Heterotrophic and show animal-like behaviour.
• Some are parasites living inside larger organisms.
• Most members do not have a defined shape.
• In the two-kingdom system, this group was regarded as phylum Protozoa.
6. GENERAL CHARACTERS OF PROTOZOAN PROTISTS
• 1. Habitat: Aquatic — fresh water or marine — or terrestrial in moist places. Some live inside other animals as
parasites; a few are saprophytes or commensals.
• 2. Form and structure: Minute unicellular organisms. Forms may be spherical, oval, spindle-shaped or irregular.
Body may be naked or surrounded by pellicle/shell.
• 3. Level of organisation: Simplest and most primitive animal-like organisms with protoplasmic level of
organisation. One cell performs fundamental life processes such as growth, metabolism, reproduction and
respiration.
• 4. Locomotion: By finger-like pseudopodia, whip-like flagella or hair-like cilia. Some parasitic protozoans lack
locomotory organelles.
• 5. Digestion: Occurs within food vacuoles in the cell.
• 6. Respiration: Gaseous exchange occurs through the general body surface/plasma membrane.
• 7. Excretion: Through the general body surface, temporary opening, or permanent opening called cytopyge.
• 8. Osmoregulation: Performed by contractile vacuoles. Freshwater forms have one or more contractile vacuoles.
Protista & Paramecium VVVI Notes • Page 2
, DIAGRAM 1 — SOME PROTOZOANS
Some protozoans: Euglena, Amoeba and Paramecium — copy this sketch
7. CLASSIFICATION OF PHYLUM PROTOZOA
• Protozoa are classified into four classes on the basis of locomotory organelles.
• 1. Sarcodina (Rhizopoda) — locomotory organelle: pseudopodia; example: Amoeba.
• 2. Ciliata — locomotory organelle: cilia; example: Paramecium.
• 3. Flagellata (Mastigophora) — locomotory organelle: flagella; example: Euglena/flagellates.
• 4. Sporozoa — no locomotory organelles; example: Plasmodium.
8. PHYLUM 1 — SARCODINA (RHIZOPODA)
• Mostly free-living in fresh water, seawater and damp soil; a few are parasites.
• Entamoeba histolytica is an endoparasite in the human intestine and causes amoebic dysentery by damaging
intestinal mucosa.
• Without pellicle; some forms have siliceous or calcareous shells.
• Foraminiferans and radiolarians may be multinucleated and can reach several centimetres in diameter.
• Pseudopodia are organelles for locomotion and food capture.
• Nutrition is holozoic (animal-like).
• Usually one nucleus is present; if more than one, the nuclei are alike.
• Asexual reproduction by binary fission or multiple fission; some show sexual reproduction by syngamy.
• Examples: Amoeba, Entamoeba.
9. PHYLUM 2 — CILIATA
• Mainly free-living in fresh and marine water; a few are parasites.
• Body is covered by pellicle, giving a definite shape; comparable to skin in higher animals.
• Body covered with cilia for locomotion and food capture.
• Heterotrophs; feed on smaller organisms such as bacteria and algae.
Protista & Paramecium VVVI Notes • Page 3
