Difference between protists and fungi

The main difference between protists and fungi is that protists are organisms that have a unicellular organization, while fungi are organisms that have a multicellular organization …

Protists against fungi

Protists are the organisms that have a single-celled organization, while fungi are the organisms that have a multicellular organization. Protists are very small that you can only see under a microscope, while fungi are large enough to be detected with the naked eye, and some are small species too. Some protists have a plant and fungal cell wall; on the other hand, fungi have a cell wall that contains chitin.

Some protists do not have a cell wall, while all fungi have cell walls. Protists have a different intercellular organization than fungi. Protists are coenocytes, while fungi are septate and coenocytes. Protists have a cytoplasm that does not contain compartments, while fungi have a cytoplasm that may or may not contain compartments.

Protists are mostly mobile, while fungi are immovable. Protists contain cilia and flagella in some species; on the other hand, fungi do not contain such structures. In protists, the number of mitochondrial genomes remains conserved, while, in fungi, the number of mitochondrial genomes is not conserved. Protists have highly developed osmoregulation, while fungi have underdeveloped osmoregulation.

In protists, the process of obtaining nutrients is mixotrophic, while in fungi, the process of obtaining nutrients is saprotrophic. In protists, mitochondria always have genome preservation, while in fungi, mitochondria always have genome reduction. The cell membrane of protists is usually variable, whereas the cell membrane of fungi is usually chitinous.

What are protists?

Protists are organisms that have a single-celled organization, and their cells are called prokaryotic cells. Some protists have a cell wall, but this structure is not present in all. It is also variable in structure in protists. It does not have an intercellular organization of similar compartments of cytoplasm.

It also has some external structures like cilia, flagella that help protists to move, glide, and capture food. It has a cell membrane similar to that of plants, animals, and fungi. The process of obtaining nutrients is mixotrophic and several methods are involved in obtaining food. Respiration in protists is also quite variable.

You can breathe aerobically and anaerobically. The osmoregulation process in protists is well developed. The mitochondria in the protists developed from the ancestors. These mitochondria also have a retention genome.

It is still the same that you got from the ancestors. The hyphae of fungal-like protists are coenocytes. As protists are prokaryotic, they are not highly developed as eukaryotes and do not have some organelles present in eukaryotic cells.

Fungi are organisms that have a multicellular organization, and their cells are called eukaryotic cells. The whole group of fungi has a cell wall and is made of chitin, a special polysaccharide. It has a different type of intercellular organization, such as cytoplasmic compartments, and contains partitions that are involved in the continuous flow of materials throughout the fungal body.

Fungi do not have external structures like cilia, flagella, etc., that is why fungi are immovable. The process of obtaining nutrients in fungi is variable such as saprotrophic, parasitic, carnivorous, etc. It obtains energy from the corpse with the help of rhizoids and haustoria through which the fungi obtain energy from the living body.

The respiration process in mushrooms is not very complicated. You just breathe aerobically and anaerobic respiration is not present in mushrooms. The genome of mitochondria was also shortened in fungi.

Key differences

1. Protists have a unicellular organization, while fungi have a multicellular organization.
2. Protists are very small and can only be seen with a simple microscope, while fungi are large enough for the human eye to see.
3. Some protists have a cell wall like plants, bacteria, and fungi; on the other hand, fungi have a cell wall that is made of chitin.
4. Some of the protists do not contain a cell wall, while all members of the fungal kingdom have cell walls.
5. Protists have cells that are coenocytes, while fungi have cells that are both septate and non-septate.
6. Protists do not contain compartments in the cytoplasm, whereas fungi may or may not contain compartments in the cytoplasm.
7. Protists are mostly mobile, while fungi are immobile.
8. Some protist cells have cilia and flagella in their structure; on the other hand, fungi do not contain cilia or flagella in their structure.
9. In protists, the genetic complement of mitochondria remains preserved, while in fungi, the genetic complement of mitochondria does not remain preserved.
10. Protists have advanced osmoregulation; on the other hand, fungi have immature osmoregulation.
11. In protists, the process of obtaining nutrients from the soil is mixotrophic, while in fungi, the process of obtaining nutrients from the soil is saprotrophic.
12. In protists, mitochondria always have genome preservation, while in fungi, mitochondria always have genome reduction.
13. Protists have a cell membrane that often varies; on the other hand, fungi have a cell membrane that is made of chitin.

The above discussion concludes that both protists and fungi are the two kingdoms of classification. Protists are prokaryotic and are included in a unicellular organization, whereas fungi are eukaryotic and are included in a multicellular organization.