Eukaryotic Microbes

• Algae - Photosynthetic eukaryotes; Sizes range from tiny, unicellular, microscopic to large and multicellular.
• Phylum Bacillariophyta - ; Diatoms; Microscopic, unicellular, live in both freshwater and salt water ;Cell walls contain Silicon dioxide (diatomaceous earth) ;Attractive, geometric and varied appearance
• Phylum Dinoflagellata - Dinoflagellates; A.k.a. Fire algae; Microscopic, unicellular, flagellated and often photosynthetic; Neurotoxins cause paralytic shellfish poisoning “red tide”
• Phylum Chlorophyta - Green algae; Cellulose cell walls, freshwater; Unicellular or multicellular; Gave rise to plants; E.g desmids, chlamydomonas, volvox,
• Chlamydomonas - unicellular, biflagellated, one chlorophyll and stigma
• Spirogyra - filamentous alga
• Volvox - multicellular alga, biflagellated cells arranged to form a sphere
• Desmids - unicellular, resembles a banana
• Phylum Phaeophyta - Brown algae; Cellulose + alginic acid cell walls; Multicellular; Few are microscopic; Store carbohydrates; Harvested for alginin
• Alginin - absorbs water quickly, which makes it useful as an additive in dehydrated products such as slimming aids, and in the manufacture of paper and textiles
• Phylum Rhodophyta - Red algae; Cellulose cell walls; Most multicellular; Store glucose polymer; Harvested for agar and carrageenan
• Phylum Euglenophyta - Euglena, a single-celled organism that is a type of protist; Possessed both algae and protozoan characteristics
• Prototheca – causes protothecosis, lives in soil. Can enter wounds on feet.
• Phycotoxins – secretion, poisonous to humans, fish and other animals
• PROTOZOA


  • Eukaryotic, unicellular, animal-like, and motile
  • Motile, dividing, and Feeding state is a trophozoite
  • Some produce cysts (dormant stage)
  • Asexual reproduction by fission, budding, or schizogony
  • Sexual reproduction by conjugation
• Amoebae - unicellular organisms that move by pseudopods and have a gelatinous body
• Entamoeba – dysentery and extraintestinal abscesses
• Acabthamoeba – eye infection
• Sporozoa - No pseudopodia, flagella or cilia
• Fungi - are eukaryotic organisms that are unicellular or multicellular; Aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, found almost everywhere
• Yeast - unicellular fungi
• Blastoconidia – individual yeast cell
• Molds - Fungi that grow on food and on water and produce spores that can cause allergic reactions
• Lichens - A symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an alga.
• Slime Molds - Slime molds are unicellular fungi that are not true plants or animals; Starts out in life as an independent amoebae
• Slug - motile, multicellular form; a tough-skinned terrestrial mollusc which typically lacks a shell and secretes a film of mucus for protection. It can be a serious plant pest.