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Chlorophyta

The document summarizes key information about the Chlorophyta division of algae. It notes that Chlorophyta contains almost 8,000 species, most of which are freshwater. Their fossil record extends back over a billion years. They are considered ancestral to land plants because they have chlorophyll a and b, use starch for storage, and have cell walls made of cellulose. The division contains three classes: Chlorophyceae, Charophyceae, and Ulvophyceae. The document then reviews concepts of convergent evolution in algae and three patterns of evolution: colonial lines, branching, and parenchymatous thalli.

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212 views2 pages

Chlorophyta

The document summarizes key information about the Chlorophyta division of algae. It notes that Chlorophyta contains almost 8,000 species, most of which are freshwater. Their fossil record extends back over a billion years. They are considered ancestral to land plants because they have chlorophyll a and b, use starch for storage, and have cell walls made of cellulose. The division contains three classes: Chlorophyceae, Charophyceae, and Ulvophyceae. The document then reviews concepts of convergent evolution in algae and three patterns of evolution: colonial lines, branching, and parenchymatous thalli.

Uploaded by

trinhcongson2601
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chlorophyta

The Chlorophyta are a division of almost 8000 species, most of which are fresh water
species.. However some can be found in the most unexpected places... such as growing on
snow packs, in soils, on trees, as symbionts in lichens or symbionts of protozoans &
hydras. Calcified green algae are important components of marine sediments and beaches
and can be found attached to bedrock over 150 meters deep.

Their fossil record extends back a Billion years ago with fresh water species evolving
approximately 450 MYA. .

They are considered to be ancestral to land plants for their following attributes:

• Like land plants they have chlorophyll a & b, and cartenoids in their
chloroplasts... thus appear green though some are more yellowish or black due to the
addition of cartenoids ( accessory pigments)..
• They use starch as their storage product.. just like most of the angiosperm or
higher plants you normally consider..
• Their flagella ( only motile stages) are 2 or more anterior or laterally inserted, of
equal size and whiplash
• Their cell wall is made up of cellulose, hemicellulose and pectins

Within the division, there are 3 classes:

• Chlorophyceae
• Charophyceae.. some taxonomists consider them to form their own phyta and
designate them as the Charaphyta. For now we keep them downgraded as a subset of the
Chlorophyta...
• Ulvophyceae

Before we go over these classes, let's review some primary concepts:

In the greens, we see to a certain extent convergent evolution occurring, in which single
celled organisms give rise to progressively larger, 3D structures. Three basic patterns
emerge which are best illustrated by reviewing the diagrams below.

1. Evolution of colonial lines: Perhaps


the best example of this is seen in the
Volvocine lineage which we will observe
in lab. In its simplest form, a single celled
individual in the process of replication
does not 'move' away from its sister cell.
Instead, they remain together bound in
some gelatinous sheath. With such
evolution we would expect to see a pattern
of 2,4,8,16,32,64,128 and so on, we can

Rem

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