Funguslike Protists
Funguslike protists have morphological adaptations and life cycles that enhance their ecological role as decomposers. Slime molds and water molds resemble fungi in appearance and lifestyle, but the similarities are a result from convergence.

• Myxomycota: Plasmodial Slime molds- brightly pigmented in yellows and orange, not photosynthetic, all heterotrophs. Not multicellular, is a continuum of cytoplasm undivided by membranes or walls. Nuclei are diploid, with each thousand of nuclei going through mitosis at the same time

• Acrasiomycota: Cellular slime molds- feeding stage consists of solitary cells that function individually. Haploid organisms. Have fruiting bodies that function in asexual reproduction, no flagellated stages.

• Oomycota: Water molds, white rusts, downy mildews- consist of coenocytic hyphae (analogous to the morphology of true fungi. Cell walls mostly of cellulose (true fungi made of chitin). Biflagellated. Uses sexual reproduction. Decomposers that grow in cottany masses on dead algae or animals, mainly in fresh water. Important in aquatic ecosystems. Some are parasitic water molds, but usually attach only injured tissue.
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