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Protista |
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Protista (prōtĭs`tə) or Protoctista (prō'tŏktĭs`tə), in the five-kingdom system of classification, a kingdom comprising a variety of unicellular and some simple multinuclear and multicellular eukaryotic organisms. Protists, which are eukaryotes eukaryote (y ..... Click the link for more information. , have cells that have a membrane-bound nucleus, DNA that is associated with histone histone (hĭs`tōn), any of a class of protein molecules found in the chromosomes of eukaryotic cells . ..... Click the link for more information. proteins, and organelles (e.g., mitochondria and chloroplasts). A recently proposed system of classification designates the eukaryotes as one of three great groups of life (beside bacteria and archaea) and places the protists within it. It has been hypothesized that the organelles in protists descend evolutionarily from specialized symbiotic bacteria living within the cells of other bacteria, contributing at least in part to the transition from prokaryotic (bacterial) cells (the earliest form of life on the planet, dating back at least 3.5 billion years) to early eukaryotic cells (the cells that define protists, dating back 1.5 billion years) and the more complex life forms of later plants and animals. The protists comprise a very diverse group of organisms. They include some algae algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. Protista The kingdom comprising all single-celled forms of living organisms in both the five-kingdom and six-kingdom systems of classification. Kingdom Protista encompasses both Protozoa and Protophyta, allowing considerable integration in the classification of both these animallike and plantlike organisms, all of whose living functions as individuals are carried out within a single cell membrane. Among the kingdoms of cellular organisms, this definition can be used to distinguish the Protista from the Metazoa (sometimes named Animalia) for many-celled animals, or from the Fungi and from the Metaphyta (or Plantae) for many-celled green plants. See Metazoa The most significant biological distinction is that which separates the bacteria and certain other simply organized organisms, including blue-green algae (collectively, often designated Kingdom Monera), from both Protista and all many-celled organisms. The bacteria are described as prokaryotic; both the Protista and the cells of higher plants and animals are eukaryotic. Structurally, a distinguishing feature is the presence of a membrane, closely similar to the bounding cell membrane, surrounding the nuclear material in eukaryotic cells, but not in prokaryotic ones. See Eukaryotae, Protozoa The definition that can separate the Protista from many-celled animals is that the protistan body never has any specialized parts of the cytoplasm under the sole control of a nucleus. In some protozoa, there can be two, a few, or even many nuclei, rather than one, but no single nucleus ever has separate control over any part of the protistan cytoplasm which is specialized for a particular function. In contrast, in metazoans there are always many cases of nuclei, each in control of cells of specialized function. Most authorities would agree that the higher plants, the Metazoa, and the Parazoa (or sponges) almost certainly evolved (each independently) from certain flagellate stocks of protistans. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| The Protista schema is certainly not yet unanimous. Typically, myxozoan spores consist of just 6 to 12 cells, not enough for taxonomists to promote these organisms from the kingdom Protista to the status of multicellular animals. |
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