Kingdom Protista

1.) What are protists? Are they unicellular or multi-cellular organisms? Are they prokaryotic or eukaryotic? Protists are a large and diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms, which belong to the kingdom Protista. They are mostly multi-cellular or unicellular, and they are eukaryotic. Kingdom Protista http://classic.sidwell.edu/us/science/vlb5/Labs/Classification_Lab/Eukarya/Protista/ 2.) Can they eat food and/or can they make their own food from the sun (photosynthesize) Explain. One of the groups that can photosynthesize is the ague they are autotrophic photosynthesizers, while the other eat Bacteria and other protistan cells, or small organic particles suspended or dissolved in water. http://classic.sidwell.edu/us/science/vlb5/Labs/Classification_Lab/Eukarya/Protista/ 3.) Why are Protists said to be the most diverse of all eukaryotes? Protists are the most diverse of eukaryotes because they cover all bases of life forms. They are unicellular, multicellular, autotrophic, heterotrophic, use asexual and sexual reproduction, sessile, and monbile. http://classic.sidwell.edu/us/science/vlb5/Labs/Classification_Lab/Eukarya/Protista/ 4.) What process is thought to be involved in the genesis of eukaryotes from prokaryotes? DNA-bearing organelles like the mitochondria and the chloroplasts are what a theory termed the endosymbiotic theory remains of ancient symbiotic oxygen-breathing proteobacteria and cyanobacteria, respectively, where the rest of the cell seems to be derived from an ancestral Achaean prokaryote cell. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_process_is_thought_to_be_involved_in_the_genesis_of_eukaryo tes_from_prokaryotes 5.) Define endosymbiosis. What does endosymbiosis have to do with Protists? Endosymbiosis is when any organism lives within the body or cells of another organism. The abundant diversity of prokaryotes originated from the process of endosymbiosis, whereby a unicellular protist engulfs another unicellular organism.

http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/raven6b/graphics/raven06b/other/raven06_35.p df

6.) Why do most biologists currently working on eukaryotic relationships consider Kingdom Protista obsolete?
It was originally a basket for simple eukaryotes which didn't fall into the other kingdoms. However, they are very diverse and molecular phylogenetic studies in particular show a more complicated picture.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_most_systematists_currently_working_on_eukaryotic_rel ationships_consider_kingdom_protista_and_the_five_kingdom_system_obsolete