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Combined, protists, animals, archaea (7 Gt), and fungi (12 Gt) make up less than 10% of global biomass, with plants (450 Gt) and bacteria (70 Gt) dominating. [127] Protist diversity, as detected through environmental DNA surveys, is vast in every sampled environment, but it is mostly undescribed. [ 128 ]
But despite the development from two kingdoms to five among most scientists, some authors as late as 1975 continued to employ a traditional two-kingdom system of animals and plants, dividing the plant kingdom into subkingdoms Prokaryota (bacteria and cyanobacteria), Mycota (fungi and supposed relatives), and Chlorota (algae and land plants). [14]
Many eukaryotes are unicellular; the informal grouping called protists includes many of these, with some multicellular forms like the giant kelp up to 200 feet (61 m) long. [9] The multicellular eukaryotes include the animals, plants, and fungi, but again, these groups too contain many unicellular species. [10]
All eukaryotes apart from animals, plants and fungi are considered protists. [1] Its field of study therefore overlaps with the more traditional disciplines of phycology , mycology , and protozoology , just as protists embrace mostly unicellular organisms described as algae , some organisms regarded previously as primitive fungi , and protozoa ...
A protist (/ ˈ p r oʊ t ɪ s t /) is any eukaryotic organism (one with cells containing a nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus.The protists do not form a natural group, or clade, since they exclude certain eukaryotes with whom they share a common ancestor; [a] but, like algae or invertebrates, the grouping is used for convenience.
Protists are distributed across all major groups of eukaryotes, including those that contain multicellular algae, green plants, animals, and fungi. If photosynthetic and fungal protists are distinguished from protozoa, they appear as shown in the phylogenetic tree of eukaryotic groups.
After the LECA, some 2 billion years ago, the eukaryotes diversified into a crown group, which gave rise to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Eukaryogenesis, the process which created the eukaryotic cell and lineage, is a milestone in the evolution of life, since eukaryotes include all complex cells and almost all multicellular organisms.
Fungi include symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi and also parasites. They may become noticeable when fruiting , either as mushrooms or as molds. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange in the environment.