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The following text was prepared as part a project-presentation-study of Biodiversity, by St. XaviersCollege, Mumbai University, First Year B.Sc (Life Sciences) : 2001-2002 students. The specific focusin this text is Chlorophyta, or Green Algae. This text was composed by Nachiket Vartak. Informationcompiled here is free for academic use. Please forward due credit to above mentioned institutions andpersons.
Introduction
Chlorophyta form the largest division of algae , and arguably the most important of all algaefrom the ecological and evolutionary point of view. Easily identifiable with their characteristic greencolor, chlorophyta are aquatic like all algae and occur in both fresh and marine water. The followingtext will discuss their classification, distribution, general morphology , reproduction, representativeclasses , orders, genera and families , fossil record and ecological, economic importance.
Classification of Chlorophyta
Chlorophyta are today classified under the Kingdom Protocista , Under the Phylum Viridiplantae,often called Phylum Algae. The modern classification is based on biochemical and genetic properties,and thus shows Division Chlorophyta as having only family , the Chlorophycae, with 11 orders withinit.Classification systems in the past have placed the Division Chlorophyta under the Kingdom Plantae ,Sub-kingdom Cryptogamae, and Phylum Thallophyta. In these systems, Chlorophyta contains threefamilies, the Chlorophycae, the Ulvophycae, the Charophycae and the Prasinophycae. Although not inuse today, this system indicates the large differences between these members. The Chlorophyta areconsidered to be evolutionarily the most advanced algae.
Distribution
Chlorophyta are found in many moist non-aquatic habitats, including snow banks. Chlorophytic algaehave been found up to 70 feet deep in the Antarctic ice sheet in a dormant state. Species of Algaefrom the
Chlamydomonas
family are found at high altitudes and are the commonest cause of "redsnow".Epiphytic epizoic forms are also present. These occur on larger algae like seaweed or on the bark of the shaded side of trees.
Protococcus
is an example of such a species.Aquatic forms are usually filamentous, or unicellular, and may be planktonic (free-floating) orattached to rocks along the shore. Larger , non-filamentous forms of chlorophyta are usually marine,while its freshwater forms are filamentous. Chlorophyta are the only known division whose speciescontribute to lichen formation.Very few parasitic forms of chlorophytes are known, one example being the species
Cephaleuros
, of the order
Chaetophorales
, which attacks the Indian tea plant
Thea siaensis
.Certain algae forming the group chlorellales, including Chlorella live as
endosymbionts
in otherorganisms from Protozoa, as well as Porifera and Coelantrata divisions of the animal kingdom.
General Morphology of Thalli
The "Thallus" is the vegetative structure formed by all species of Algae in their life cycles.Chlorophyta species occur as unicellular organisms, multicellular organisms or as colonies of
unicellular organisms bound by a gel like matrix.The thalli of chlorophytes may vary from minute unicells , a micron or two in diameter to a few feetlong, stranded structure. It may be motile or non-motile.Multicellular organisms are most often filamentous and form leaf-like thalli (bodies), however othershapes are also seen , for example Acetabularia (shown below) forms umbrella shaped structures.Others such as Ulva form sheets of cells.Some level of tissue differentiation is seen in multicellular chlorophytes , but the level of differentiationis much lower than bryophyta and phanerogams. True root, stem or leaves are not formed inChlorophyta, which is why their vegetative structure is termed as Thallus.Colonial chlorophytes which are flagellated assume a disc-like shape or that of a hollow sphere.Certain filamentous forms have lost some or all cross walls during evolution , and thus form a multi-nucleated protoplasm. These are called coenocytic or siphonaceous algae.The structure of chlorophytic thalli are roughly unique to the orders and genera within chlorophytaand will be described later in reference to each. However, before we can discuss the forms of thalli inchlorophytes, it is necessary to note the general cell structure of Chlorophyta.
Cell Structure
All chlorophytes are eukaryotic organisms. As with their morphology, their cell structure showsintermediate features between those of monera and plantae.
Cell wall
: The Cell wall usually consists of two layers. The inner layer is firm , composed of cellulose,while the outer layer is gelatinous , often with pectin embedded in the matrix. Some unicellularflagellates, however, lack a cell wall but posses a wall-like structure called "the lorica". Lorica do notcompletely enclose the cell and are not completely in contact with the cell. The space between theplasma membrane and the lorica is filled either with water or with a gelatinous matrix similar to thatfound in the outer layer of walled chlorophytes. Lorica are often impregnated with minerals such asiron or calcium, a feature probably inherited from lower photosynthetic algae , the chrysophyta.
Nucleus
:Chlorophyta have a typical nucleus, with chromosomes, nuclear membrane, nucleoplasm,nucleoli etc. The nucleus is more or less centralized and always lies internal to the other sell organelles.The cell division undergone by the haploid phases is mitotic, while that by diploid phases is meiotic.
Chloroplasts and Food Reserves :
Chlorophytes are the first cells to synthesize the pigmentsChlorophyll a and b, found in all photosynthetic plants. Due to this, chlorophyta are sometimesgrouped under the Kingdom Plantae , under class Thallophyta. The pigments are localized in
chloroplasts.Chloroplasts are present in all cells , and vary is shape and number but are usually consistent within agiven species.For example, the chloroplast is cup-shaped in
Chlamydomonas
, discoid in
Vaucheriaand Chara
, reticulate in
Oedogonium
,
spiral and tibbon-shaped in
Spirogyra
, stellate in
Zygnema
,band-shaped in
Sphaeroplea
, and axile in
Cosmarium.
Grana are absent in algal chloroplasts, but thylakoids are present containing a central lipid layer with alarge number of pigment molecules embedded in it. No pigments other than the chlorophylls, and thetypical xanthophylls and carotenes are found within the chlorophytes.In many algae, the chloroplast contains one or more protein-bodies known as pyrenoids
. Pyrenoidsare composed of densely packed proteinaceous fibrils, occasionally having fine tubular structures thatrun out and connect with the lamellae of the chloroplasts. Pyrenoids arise
de novo
in the chloroplasts,and may be one (as in
Chlamydomonas)
or many (as in
Oedogonium
and
Spirogyra)
The pyrenoidsare centers of starch accumulation and thus serve to store food. Some larger algae lack pyrenoids andinstead accumulate starch in specialized cell organelles called leucoplasts. Leucoplasts are also foundin vascular plants indicating an evolutionary link between chlorophytes and advanced plants.
Other Organelles :
The cytoplasm has mitochondria, dictyosomes, endoplasmic reticulum and truevesicle formation is seen. Vacuoles are present and sometimes may be contractile. These organelles arenot different from general forms occuring in all eukaryotic cells.
Motility and Flagella :
Though all chlorophytes are not flagellated, most unicellular and colonialforms posses flagella. Flagella are of the
whiplash (acronematic) type
, and
all
consist of the
9+2microtubule pattern.
At the base of the flagellum, is an organelle called the blepharoplast, a structureanalogous to the centriole in animal cells. Its function is thought to be anchorage of theflagellum to the cytoskeleton and well as a role in the action of the flagellum. Some flagellae havelateral filaments called mastigonemes, these being of the tinsel type. Those with one row of filamentsare termed pectinate, while those with two are termed as pinnate.Usually two or four flagella are present on chlorophytes, though species possesing one , to severalflagella are known. Primitive Chlorophytes often have an orange-red eye spot , which influences thedirection of travel of the organism , through yet unknown mechanisms.Chlorphytes can be classified on the basis of the arrangements of their flagella. This classificationmerely serves to imply the states of advancement of the various orders in Chlorophyta.he Chlorophyceae includes three major groups distinguished primarily by basic differences in thearrangement of their flagellae:(i)
Volvocales, Chaetophorales, & Chlorococcales
- together make up more than half of allchlorophyceans. Members of these orders have an offset flagellar arrangement (1 o'clock-7 o'clock).
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