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Slime Molds & Water Molds Fungus Like Protists

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Funguslike Protists Heterotrophs Absorb nutrients from dead or decaying organic matter Lack the chitin cell walls of true fungi Have centrioles unlike true fungi who lack them

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Slime Molds Found in damp places that are rich in organic matter (forest floor, compost pile) Play key roles in the recycling of organic material part of their life they resemble amoebas and at times form moldlike clumps that release spores like fungi. 2 main groups: Cellular slime molds Acellular slime molds

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Cellular Slime Molds Belong to phylum Acrasiomycota spend most of life as a free-living cell that resembles an amoeba. When food is scarce they reproduce spores that can survive adverse conditions Send out chemical messages that attract other cells of same species which aggregate into a colony that behaves like a single organism Colony produces fruiting bodies to release spores each of which can become a new amoeba like cell.

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Acellular Slime Molds Belong to phylum Myxomycota Similar to cellular slime molds except. When the amoeba like cells aggregate their cells fuse to produce a structure with many nuclei known as a plasmodium Fruiting bodies spring up from the plasmodium

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Water Molds Belong to phylum Oomycota Live on dead or decaying organic matter in water Some are plant parasites

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One water mold caused the infamous Irish potato famine Phytophthora infestans