Fungi, protists and disease cycles

≈ 48 min

Fungi, protists and disease cycles

Fungi absorb nutrients after releasing enzymes into their surroundings; many have hyphae that form a mycelium. Protists are diverse eukaryotes, including algae and disease-causing organisms such as Plasmodium. Disease patterns are understood by following a life cycle: reservoir, vector or route of transfer, host entry, multiplication and exit. Changing one link can reduce risk, but the right intervention depends on evidence about the actual route.

Work it through

Malaria transmission requires a female Anopheles mosquito to carry Plasmodium between people. A bed net targets mosquito-to-person transfer; it does not treat an infection already inside red blood cells.

Mastery target

Distinguish an organism's nutrition and life cycle from the way disease is transmitted.

Which statement describes a fungal feeding strategy?

It releases enzymes and absorbs dissolved nutrients.

It makes ATP only in a host cell.

It injects DNA into bacteria.

It always photosynthesises.

Name the key biological term from Fungi, protists and disease cycles: enter the term that best fits the explanation and visual model.

A mosquito-control campaign removes standing water near homes. Which link in a malaria cycle is targeted?

The mosquito vector's breeding stage

Human digestion

Bacterial cell-wall synthesis

Plant pollination

Which statement corrects a common misunderstanding in Fungi, protists and disease cycles?

Correct: A vector carries a pathogen between hosts; it is not necessarily made ill by that pathogen.

A single observation is enough to prove every biological claim.

Scientific terms are interchangeable whenever they sound similar.

A process always has exactly the same result in every environment.