Protistology is a scientific discipline devoted to the study of

protists A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the excl ...

, a highly diverse group of

eukaryotic Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bacte ...

organisms. All eukaryotes apart from animals, plants and fungi are considered protists. Its field of study therefore overlaps with the more traditional disciplines of

phycology Phycology () is the scientific study of algae. Also known as algology, phycology is a branch of life science. Algae are important as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Most algae are eukaryotic, photosynthetic organisms that live in a w ...

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as ...

, and

protozoology Protozoology is the study of protozoa, the "animal-like" (i.e., motile and heterotrophic) protists. The Protozoa are considered to be a subkingdom of Protista. They are free-living organisms that are found in almost every habitat. All humans have pr ...

, just as protists embrace mostly

unicellular A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that consists of a single cell, unlike a multicellular organism that consists of multiple cells. Organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and ...

organisms described as

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

, some organisms regarded previously as primitive

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, and

protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...

("animal" motile protists lacking chloroplasts). They are a

paraphyletic group In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

with very diverse morphologies and lifestyles. Their sizes range from unicellular picoeukaryotes only a few micrometres in diameter to multicellular

marine algae Marine primary production is the chemical synthesis in the ocean of organic compounds from atmospheric or dissolved carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it al ...

several metres long.

History

The term "

" has become dated as understanding of the evolutionary relationships of the eukaryotes has improved, and is frequently replaced by the term "protistology". For example, the Society of Protozoologists, founded in 1947, was renamed International Society of Protistologists in 2005. However, the older term is retained in some cases (e.g., the Polish journal ''Acta Protozoologica'').

Journals and societies

Dedicated academic journals include: * '' Archiv für Protistenkunde'', 1902-1998, Germany (renamed ''

Protist A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...

'', 1998-); * '' Archives de la Societe Russe de Protistologie'', 1922-1928, Russia; * '' Journal of Protozoology'', 1954-1993, USA (renamed ''

Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology The ''Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of eukaryotic microbiology. The journal publishes research on protists, including lower algae and fungi. According to the ''Journal Citation R ...

'', 1993-); * '' Acta Protozoologica'', 1963-, Poland; * '' Protistologica'', 1968-1987, France (renamed ''

European Journal of Protistology ''The European Journal of Protistology'' is a medical journal that covers the entire scope of protistology, from their development and ecology to molecular biology. The journal is published by Elsevier. It is official journal of the Federation of ...

'', 1987-); * '' Japanese Journal of Protozoology'', 1968-2017, Japan (renamed '' Journal of Protistology'', 2018-); * ''Protistology'', 1999-, Russia. Other less specialized journals, important to protistology before the appearance of the more specialized: * '' Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences'', 1666-, France; * ''

Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science The ''Journal of Cell Science'' (formerly the ''Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of cell biology. The journal is published by The Company of Biologists. The journal is partnered wit ...

'', 1853-1966, UK (renamed ''

Journal of Cell Science The ''Journal of Cell Science'' (formerly the ''Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of cell biology. The journal is published by The Company of Biologists. The journal is partnered with P ...

'', 1966-); * ''

Archiv für mikroskopische Anatomie Max Johann Sigismund Schultze (25 March 1825 – 16 January 1874) was a German microscopic anatomist noted for his work on cell theory. Biography Schultze was born in Freiburg im Breisgau (Baden). He studied medicine at Greifswald and Berlin, and ...

'', 1865-1923, Germany; * '' Transactions of the Microscopical Society'', 1841-1869, UK (renamed '' Journal of Microscopy'', 1869-); * ''

Transactions of the American Microscopical Society The American Microscopical Society (AMS) is a society of biologists dedicated to promoting the use of microscopy. A cohort of biologists and science educators, the AMS's members use a wide array of microscopical techniques ( light microscopy, e ...

'', 1880-1994, USA (renamed '' Invertebrate Biology'', 1995-); * ''

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz ''Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz'' (Portuguese for "Memoirs of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute") is a peer-reviewed open access medical journal covering parasitology, microbiology, and tropical medicine. It was established in 1909 by the Braz ...

'', 1909-, Brazil. Some societies: * Society of Protozoloogists, 1947-2005, USA (renamed International Society of Protistologists, 2005-), with many affiliates; * International Society for Evolutionary Protistology, 1975, USA. * Protistology UK (previously British Society for Protist Biology) * International Society of Protistologists (previously the Society of Protozoologists)

Notable protistologists (sorted by alphabetical order of surnames)

The field of protistology was idealized by Haeckel, but its widespread recognition is more recent. In fact, many of the researchers cited below considered themselves as protozoologists, phycologists, mycologists, microbiologists, microscopists, parasitologists, limnologists, biologists, naturalists, zoologists, botanists, etc., but made significant contributions to the field.

References

External links

*
Portal to protistology
by th
International Society of Protistologists
{{Branches of biology . . Branches of biology