Question

What are two diseases caused by protists?

Answer 1

Hint: Protists are mostly unicellular, eukaryotic organisms that have differing characteristics from plants, animals and fungi. Protists share a common ancestor with plants, animals and fungi but protists do not form natural groups because of the exclusion of other eukaryotes.

Complete answer:
Protists are variable organisms as some protists may be more closely related to plants, animals or fungi than with other protists. Protists have a relatively simple cellular organization but do not have much in common with other protists. Protists do not have an exclusive common ancestor. The common characteristic for most protists is the eukaryotic nature of their cellular organization. Protists include organisms like:
- Amoebas
- Choanoflagellates
- Diatoms
- Ciliates
- Plasmodium
- Dinoflagellates
- Giardia
These protist organisms are unicellular organisms.
Protists cause a variety of diseases. The protists that infect humans are unicellular, eukaryotic organisms. They are responsible for a slew of diseases like:
- Dysentery: It is caused by waterborne protists that are similar to amoebae that are most commonly found in ponds.
- Sleeping Sickness: It is a disease caused by Trypanosoma gambiense which is transmitted by the TseTse fly.
- Leishmaniasis: It is a disease transmitted by the bite of sandflies. It is caused by a protist called Leishmania.
- Malaria: It is a disease caused by the protist Plasmodium. Malaria is transmitted through mosquitoes.

Note:
The source of nutrition differs in protists. Some eukaryotic algae are autotrophic in nature but some groups of algae have lost their pigment. Some protists are heterotrophic and gain nutrition through methods like:
- Phagocytosis
- Saprotrophic nutrition
- Osmotrophy
- Parasitism