Compare and contrast slime molds and water molds
What will be an ideal response?
Both the slime molds and the water molds are saprobes, and neither of them is fungi, as the names would suggest. In spite of the similarity of names, however, these organisms are more different than they are similar.
Slime molds are classified among the protozoa (Amoebozoa). They are phagocytic organisms without cell walls and occur in two forms: plasmodial and cellular.
The plasmodial coenocytic slime molds are diploid under normal conditions, but under adverse conditions they produce haploid spores that can germinate to produce a unicellular form (myxamoeba) that uses flagella or pseudopodia for motility, depending on conditions. Two compatible myxamoebae fuse to form a new diploid, which, in turn, becomes a new coenocytic plasmodium.
The cellular slime molds are haploid. Under ideal conditions, the cellular slime molds live as single-celled organisms (myxamoebae). When food becomes scarce, the myxamoebae congregate and cooperate to form a sporangium, and some individuals then become spores. No diploidy or meiosis is involved.
The water molds are classified with the algae (Stramenophila), but they do not carry out photosynthesis. They are diploid saprobes with cell walls of cellulose. Their spores are motile by means of two flagella, which are structurally different. Some water molds are plant pathogens.
You might also like to view...
Which of the following ecological locations has the greatest species diversity?
A) tundra B) deciduous forests C) tropical rain forest D) grasslands E) islands
Which of the following is required for formation of the open complex of replication initiation?
A. binding of DnaB helicase to single strands of the replication bubble B. binding of DnaC to the four 9-mer consensus sequences, which destabilizes the AT-rich repeat sequences C. binding of DnaA to the four 9-mer consensus sequences, which destabilizes the AT-rich repeat sequences D. DnaA/DnaC/ATP complex loads DnaA onto the origin and ATP hydrolysis allows release of the DnaC protein E. oligomerization of the HU protein upon binding the origin, and wraping of the DNA around the oligomer
Which of the following NOT a protection from
most mutations?
a. very few bases actually change b. the genetic code is redundant c. most of our DNA is non-coding d. genes contain non-coding regions e. all of these protect us from mutations
__________ are open channels that connect the cytoplasm of abutting cells and permit rapid transfer of
ions and small molecules between them. Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).