Final answer:
Fungus-like protists, including fungi, protozoa, and slime molds, use heterotrophic metabolism to obtain energy by consuming organic materials. They do not possess photosynthetic pigments and rely on external sources of nutrition.
Step-by-step explanation:
Fungus-like protists, including fungi, protozoa, and slime molds, all use heterotrophic metabolism. This means that they obtain their energy by consuming organic materials, such as decaying organic matter or other organisms. They do not possess photosynthetic pigments like chlorophyll and cannot produce their own food through photosynthesis. Instead, they rely on external sources of nutrition.
Unlike fungi that have cell walls made of chitin, many of these fungus-like protists have cell walls made of cellulose. Furthermore, they have complex life cycles that can include both asexual and sexual reproduction, and unlike fungi, many can move during certain life stages.
It is important to note that while these organisms were once classified together due to similar modes of nutrition and characteristics like spore reproduction, molecular phylogenetic analysis has provided better insight into their true evolutionary relationships, placing slime molds under the Protist kingdom. Overall, the heterotrophic metabolism of these organisms allows them to play crucial roles as decomposers in the ecosystem, recycling nutrients and breaking down organic matter.