Definition of "protoctist" []

• Any of various unicellular eukaryotic organisms and their multicellular, coenocytic, or colonial descendants that belong to the kingdom Protoctista according to some taxonomic systems. The protoctists include the protozoans, slime molds, various algae, and other groups. In many new classification systems, all protoctists are considered to be protists. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "My own expertise after all is in protoctist and organellar genetics."