Biology 3A
A. Garrison
PROTIST LAB
Read the introductory information in Exercise 8 of the lab manual. The most updated
phylogeny places the single-celled eukaryotes and their close relatives into 4 supergroups:
Excavata, SAR, Archaeplastida and Unikonta. You will be looking at examples of various clades
and sublclades within these supergroups. Much of the material you will look at is on a
prepared slide or in a Riker mount, but you will have living material for some of these. Draw
the specimens, labeling the identifiable structures. Know the genus and species names that are
given. Know what habitat these organisms live in.
Supergroup Excavata – many with excavated feeding groove, often reduced mitochondrion
*Clade Euglenozoa – flagella with crystalline or spiral rod inside
*Subclade Euglenida – flagella arise from pocket
Euglena sp.
Prepared slide
Living specimen
Notes:
*Subclade Kinetoplastida – large mitochondrion with mass of DNA (=kinetoplast)
Trypanosoma sp. Note protist (stained purple) in plasma between RBCs.
Prepared slide
Notes:
1
*Clade Parabasala – lack plastids, anaerobic, produce hydrogen gas
Trichomonas vaginalis
Prepared slide or micrograph
Notes:
*Clade Diplomonada – lack plastids, anaerobic, produce hydrogen gas
Giardia sp.
Prepared slide or micrograph
Notes:
Supergroup “SAR”—diverse group, phylogeny controversial
*Clade Stramenopila—“hairy” flagellum, most w/shorter smooth flagellum
*Subclade Bacillariophyta—silica pillbox test
diatoms
Prepared slide
Notes:
2
*Subclade Phaeophyta—multicellular
brown algae
Riker Mount
Notes:
*Clade Alveolata—alveoli (flattened sacs) under plasma membrane
*Subclade Dinoflagellata—cellulose plates
Ceratium sp.
Prepared slide
Notes:
*Subclade Apicomplexa—parasitic
Plasmodium sp. Note protist inside RBCs.
Prepared slide
Notes:
3
*Subclade Ciliophora—cilia
Paramecium sp.
Whole organism (use conjugation slide)
Prepared slide
Conjugation
Prepared slide
Fission
Prepared slide
Discharged Trichocysts
Prepared slide
Living specimen
Notes:
4
*Clade Rhizaria—often with threadlike pseudopodia
*Subclade Radiolaria—silica tests
Radiolarians
Prepared slide
Notes:
*Subclade Foraminifera—calcium carbonate tests
Foraminifera
Prepared slide
Notes:
Supergroup Archaeplastida—photosynthetic, plastids do not have multiple membranes (no
evidence of secondary endosymbiosis)
*Clade Rhodophyta—red algae
Gracilaria sp., other specimens
“Living” specimen
Riker Mount
Notes:
5
*Clade Chlorophyta—green algae
Volvox sp.
Living specimen
Notes:
Spirogyra sp.
Living specimen
Conjugation
Prepared slide
Notes:
6
Supergroup Unikonta
*Clade Amoebozoa—lobe- or tube-shaped pseudopodia
*Subclade Tubulinida—free-living
Amoeba sp.
Prepared slide
Living specimen
Notes:
*Subclade Entamoeba—intestinal parasites
Entamoeba histolytica
Prepared slide or micrograph
Notes:
7
While protists are almost all single-celled eukaryotes, they are not their own taxonomic group.
The “kingdom” is polyphyletic. Why is this?
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Does it make sense that some of the organisms are more closely related to animals or fungi or
plants than to other protists? Elaborate on your answer.
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Complete pages 63-64 in your lab manual.
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