noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
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"Besides the hundreds or thousands of metres of fungal mycelium in a teaspoon of healthy soil, there are more bacteria, protists, insects and arthropods than the number of humans who have ever lived on Earth."
"The researcher's team chose to study 10 common species of the ciliated protist – or protozoa microorganisms – because of their ability to reproduce."
Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus.
Common synonyms include: protistan, euglenoid, eukaryotic microbe, eukaryotic microorganism, kingdom protist, microorganism.
The researcher's team chose to study 10 common species of the ciliated protist – or protozoa microorganisms – because of their ability to reproduce.
Pronounced /ˈproʊtɪst/.
From translingual Protista, from Ancient Greek πρώτιστος (prṓtistos).