Difference Between Protists and Fungi
Table of Contents
Main Difference
The main difference between protists and fungi is that the protists are the organisms that have a unicellular organization, whereas the fungi are the organisms that have a multicellular organization.
Protists vs. Fungi
Protists are the organisms that have an organization of unicellular, whereas the fungi are the organisms that have an organization of multicellular. Protists are very small that can only see in a microscope, while fungi are big enough to be detected by the naked eye, and some are also small species. Some protists have a cell wall of plants and fungi-like; on the flip side, fungi have a cell wall containing chitin.
Some protists do not have a cell wall, whereas all fungi have cell walls. Protists have different intercellular organization from fungi. Protists are coenocytes, whereas the fungi are both septate and coenocytes. Protists have cytoplasm that does not contain compartments, whereas the fungi have cytoplasm that may or may not contain compartments.
Protists are mostly moveable, whereas fungi are immoveable. Protists contain cilia and flagella in some species; on the other hand, fungi do not contain such structures. In protists, the number of genomes of mitochondria remains conserved, whereas, in fungi, the number of genomes of mitochondria does not remain conserved. Protists have highly developed osmoregulation, while fungi have underdeveloped osmoregulation.
In protists, the process of nutrient attainment is mixotrophic, whereas, in fungi, the process of nutrient attainment is saprotrophic. In protists, mitochondria always have genome preservation, whereas, in fungi, mitochondria always have genome reduction. The cell membrane of protists is usually variable, while the cell membrane of fungi is usually chitinous.
Comparison Chart
| Protists | Fungi |
| Protists are the organisms that have an organization of unicellular and are prokaryotes. | Fungi are the organisms that have an organization of multicellular and are eukaryotes. |
| Size | |
| Very small that can only see in the microscope | Big enough to be seen with a naked eye. |
| Cell Membrane | |
| Variable | Chitinous |
| Cell Wall | |
| Present in some | Present in all |
| Intercellular Organization | |
| Do not have compartments | Have compartments |
| Nutrients Attainments | |
| Mixotrophic | Saprotrophic |
| Osmoregulation | |
| Highly developed | Developed |
| Respiration | |
| Aerobic or Anaerobic | Aerobic |
| Mitochondria | |
| Genome retention | Genome reduction |
| Outer Structure | |
| Cilia, flagella, etc | Do not have such structures |
| Mobility | |
| Moveable | Immoveable |
| Septate | |
| Coenocytes | Septate and non-septate |
What are Protists?
Protists are the organisms that have an organization of unicellular, and its cells are called prokaryotic cells. Some protists have a cell wall, but this structure is not present in all. It is also of variable structure in protists. It has no intercellular organization of like compartments of cytoplasm.
It also has some outer structures like cilia, flagella that helps the protists to move and slide and capture the food. It has a cell membrane of plant, animal, and fungi-like. The process of nutrients attainments is mixotrophic, and several methods are involved in obtaining the food. The respiration in protists is also quite variable.
It can respire through aerobically and anaerobically. The process of osmoregulation in protists is well-developed. The mitochondria in protists are evolved from the ancestors. These mitochondria also have a genome of retention.
It remains the same as got from the ancestors. The hyphae of fungi-like protists are coenocytes. As protists are prokaryotes, that’s they are not highly developed as eukaryotes and do not have some organelles that are present in eukaryotic cells.
What are Fungi?
Fungi are the organisms that have an organization of multicellular, and its cells are called eukaryotic cells. All the fungus group has a cell wall, and it is made of chitin, a special polysaccharide. It has a different kind of intercellular organization such as compartments of cytoplasm and contains septate that are involved in the continuous flow of materials throughout the body of fungi.
Fungi do not have outer structures like cilia, flagella, etc. that’s why fungi are immoveable. The process nutrient attainment in fungi is variable such as saprotrophic, parasitism, carnivorous, etc. It obtains energy from the dead body with the help of rhizoids and haustoria through which the fungi obtain energy from the living body.
The process of respiration in fungi is not very complicated. It simply respires through aerobically, and anaerobic respiration is not present in fungi. The genome of mitochondria also got reduce in fungi.
Key Differences
Conclusion
The above discussion concludes that both protists and fungi are the two kingdoms of classification. Protists are prokaryotes and are included in a unicellular organization, whereas the fungi are eukaryotes and are included in a multicellular organization.
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