Small but fundamental
Protista are microscopic, mainly unicellular organisms, i.e. consisting of one cell only. Unlike Monera, which have no distinguished nucleus, Protista have a nucleus and this is why they are called eukaryotes. Their genetic material (DNA) is in the nucleus, wrapped in a membrane that separates it from the cytoplasm.
Protista are the kingdom with the highest degree of variability, which includes micro-organisms with very different shapes, structures and living conditions.
All Protista can reproduce asexually, i.e. they can duplicate without exchanging any genetic material. This is the most frequently used method to increase the number of individuals. But, in case of need, they can recombine their genetic inheritance, i.e. reproduce through “sexed” methods. All Protista have an aerobic metabolism, i.e. they need oxygen to live.
They consist of two large groups: autotrophic and heterotrophic protista.
Special reports
-
3 November 2014
Conan the bacterium
Have you ever leafed through the pages of a book of Guinness World Records? You can find records of all…
-
8 March 2021
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
27 February 2021
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
8 January 2021
Smart as a crow
Some people call them "monkeys with feathers" because they can do clever things comparable to many of our monkey cousins.…
-
18 December 2020
The Christmas Star Tradition
Let's discover together stories and legends about the Christmas Star...
24 November 2020
The glow of duck-billed platypuses
It's easy to answer "which is the strangest animal?". The answer: the platypus. These strange creatures live only in Australia…
12 October 2020
Crispr-Cas9, the gene factory
Nobel 2020. The biochemists Emmanuelle Charpentier, French, and Jennifer A. Doudna, from the United States, were awarded the most important…
-
3 November 2014
Conan the bacterium
Have you ever leafed through the pages of a book of Guinness World Records? You can find records of all…
-
8 March 2021
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
-
27 February 2021
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
8 January 2021
Smart as a crow
Some people call them "monkeys with feathers" because they can do clever things comparable to many of our monkey cousins.…
-
3 November 2014
Conan the bacterium
Have you ever leafed through the pages of a book of Guinness World Records? You can find records of all…
From the Multimedia section
Facts
-
Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...
-
Bio-luminescence
Many sea animals, including a lot of fish and molluscs that live in the dark in the ocean depths...
Down-pouring bacteria
It sounds incredible, but recent researches have found that bacteria can cause some atmospheric phenomena...
Bacteria as Sherlock Holmes
A drop of blood, a fragment of skin or a hair found on the scene of a crime can supply…
-
13 May 2011
A super-milk
Some protozoa have attracted the interest of the biotechnological research world...
Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...
-
Bio-luminescence
Many sea animals, including a lot of fish and molluscs that live in the dark in the ocean depths...
-
Down-pouring bacteria
It sounds incredible, but recent researches have found that bacteria can cause some atmospheric phenomena...
Bacteria as Sherlock Holmes
A drop of blood, a fragment of skin or a hair found on the scene of a crime can supply…
-
Bread and cheese, wine or beer
Yeast is used to make wine, beer and bread. When mixed with the bread dough...