Laboratory Notes for BIO 1003

© 30 August 1999, John H. Wahlert & Mary Jean Holland

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Plantae

ALGAE

Plants arose in water, and algae are examples of this stage in plant evolution. Life in water is
much simpler than life on land, since the nutrient rich environment surrounds the organism.

Algae (s. alga) are photosynthetic, nonvascular aquatic plants. They may consist of a single cell
(e.g., Chlamydomonas), of a cluster of cells (e.g., Gonium), or be a giant marine organism (e.g.,
Macrocystis—kelp). Algae are autotrophs or primary producers, part of the broad base of the
aquatic food chain. They live in fresh water, brackish water, and marine environments. The
photosynthetic portion is always at relatively shallow depth, within the zone of light penetration.
Any large, flat multicellular form is referred to as a thallus. Gametes that are identical are called
isogametes; if different, heterogametes (oogamy refers to a large, non-motile egg; in such cases
sperm are small and motile).

Division Rhodophyta—red algae

About 4000 species of red algae are known. They inhabit the edges of the sea everywhere. A few
species occur in fresh water. The kinds that you see are generally haploid; alternation of
generations (diploid sporophyte and haploid gametophyte) is the norm. The reddish plastids are
called rhodoplasts; they contain chlorophyll a and phycobiliproteins, which give them the red
color; all lack chlorophylls b and c. Some red algae live at great depth, where red light
wavelengths, which are of primary importance as energy for green and brown algae, fail to
penetrate. Red algae are the source of agar, a gelatinous substance that is extracted from their
cell walls; polysaccharides from these algae are used in the manufacture of ice cream and other
food products.

Examples: Porphyridium (unicellular); Porphyra (multicellular membranous—used as food in

Asia under the name of “nori”); Polysiphonia (branching form).
 Division Phaeophyta—brown algae

About 1500 species of brown algae are known; nearly all are marine. Some are huge: The giant
kelp may be as much as 100 meters long. Brown algae dominate the intertidal zone, especially
rocky coastal sea shores in the temperate regions. Reproduction is mostly sexual. There is
alternation of haploid gametophyte and diploid sporophyte generations. The gametophyte and
sporophyte may look identical or be entirely different. Chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and
c, but never b. Fucoxanthin is responsible for the brown or olive-drab color of the thallus.

Examples: Ectocarpus; Laminaria and

Macrocystis—kelps (these have a root-like
holdfast, a stemlike stipe, and leaflike blades);
Sargassum; Fucus—rockweed (found at the
beach; tips of the thallus have bladders that you
can pop).

Division Chlorophyta—green algae

About 7000 species have been described. Many are marine (e.g., Ulva--sea lettuce, a
membranous thallus); others are a major component of the freshwater phytoplankton. Together
they have been estimated to fix over a billion tons of carbon per year. Chloroplasts are grass-
green and contain chlorophylls a and b and carotenoid derivatives. Since the Chlorophyta and
land plants share photosynthetic pigments and cell wall chemistry, it is presumed that some kind
of green alga was the ancestor of the land plants. These plants have many different forms
including motile unicellular and colonial, nonmotile unicellular, colonial, filamentous,
membranous, and multinucleate. The microscopic examples you will see are all haploid, fresh
water green algae.

Chlamydomonas is a motile unicell; each cell has two flagella. The

chloroplast is cup-shaped. Starch is synthesized in a special region
of the chloroplast called the pyrenoid; iodine stain will help you
find it. Recall that starch is a polysaccharide made of glucose sugars.
Chlamydomonas belongs to a group called the Volvocales. Other examples are Gonium, which
consists of groups of Chlamydomonas-like cells, and Pandorina in which the cells are more
regularly arranged.

Volvox, itself, is a colonial alga, a hollow cluster of mostly

identical cells that are held in place by a gelatinous matrix. The
flagella of each cell cause the colony to roll through the water.
You can see examples of asexual reproduction--cells within the
colony divide and form hollow spheres called daughter
colonies (left). In sexual reproduction a large egg and tiny
sperm (heterogametes) are formed; fertilization results in
thick-walled, spiny zygotes (right), also inside a parent colony.

Oedogonium is an example of a filamentous or thread-like green alga, and it

does not swim. The chloroplast is netlike and has many pyrenoids. A
holdfast attaches the filament to the substrate. Mitosis produces haploid
zoospores (asexual reproduction). In sexual reproduction heterogametes
meet and form a thick-walled zygote; when it germinates, meiosis produces
haploid motile spores that settle down and a new haploid filament grows.

Spirogyra is also a filamentous green alga. The chloroplast is spiral with

numerous pyrenoids. If iodine is available, prepare a stained slide of living
Spirogyra. What is the function of the pyrenoids? The large central vacuole
is within the spiral. Asexual reproduction occurs if the filament breaks into
pieces.

Sexual reproduction is by conjugation. Two Spirogyra filaments lie side by side, and
conjugation tubes bulge out from the cells in the opposite filaments; they meet and unite as
continuous tubes. The contents of one cell move across into the other, and, when the nuclei fuse,
a zygote is formed. In the following spring the zygote nucleus undergoes meiosis, three of the
four nuclei die, and the new haploid cell germinates into a haploid filament.
 Division Charophyta—Stoneworts and Brittleworts

These algae are often included in the division Chlorophyta, because they have the same
photosynthetic pigments and store carbohydrate as starch. The body form and reproductive
organs are different. Some botanists consider them to make a link between the green algae and
land plants.

BSCI 124 Lecture Notes

Undergraduate Program in Plant Biology, University of Maryland

LECTURE 17 - ALGAE: GRASS OF THE SEA

I. General characteristics [For a detailed review of the Plant Kingdom, see the site maintained by
Cardillo & Samuels]
A. Eukaryotic; placed in Kingdom Protista (also frequently termed Protoctista)
B. Mostly photosynthetic
1. Photosynthetic pigments- four different kinds of chlorophyll
2. accessory pigments- a variety, including blue, red, brown, golden
C. Require moist environments (lack a waxy cuticle found in terrestrial plants)
D. May be microscopic and float in surface waters (phytoplankton) or macroscopic and live
attached to rocky coasts (seaweeds)
1. Size ranges from size of bacteria (0.5 um) to over 50 m long (1 um = 1/25,000th
inch; 1 m = 39 inches)
E. Lack vascular (conducting) tissues- no true roots, stems, or leaves
F. Modes of reproduction
1. Sexual and asexual
-Have single-celled gametangia (reproductive organs)- no multicellular
reproductive organs
- Life history has 1, 2, or 3 stages (in contrast, plants have 2 stages, gametophyte
and sporophyte)
View of their phylogenetic relationships
II. Representative algae
A. Red algae (Division Rhodophyta)
1. Evolution: Red algae are some of the oldest eukaryotic organisms on the planet.
Fossils of red algae have been found that are over 2 billion years old.
2. Habitat: There are 4000 different species of red algae.
a. They are very abundant in tropical and warm waters, although many are
found in cooler waters.
b. Red algae are typically found in marine waters attached to rocks or
other plants in the calmer, deeper waters beyond the tidal zone.
 c. Some red algae are reef builders in tropical seas, as important or more
important than coral animals.
d. The red algae act as habitat and food for some animals.
3. Structure: Their size and complexity vary from thin films growing on rocks to
complex filaments or membranes growing to heights approaching 1 meter.
a. Their accessory pigments called phycobilins mask the chlorophyll a and
give them their red color. Due to these specialized pigments, red algae
are often able to photosynthesize in deeper water than other algae.
b. Red algae do not have flagella at any stage of their life cycle.
4. Commercial: Chondrus crispus (Irish moss) is a small filamentous red algae found
on rocky ledges in the subtidal zone of the coastal waters.
a. The Irish started using small quantities of Irish moss boiled with milk to
produce a jelly dessert that the French later called "blanc mange." The
mixture of a polysaccharide from the walls of the algae with the
proteins in milk produces carrageenan.
b. This thick solution or gel is used in ice cream, whipped cream, fruit
syrups, chocolate milk, bread, and macaroni. It is also used in tooth
paste, pharmaceutical jellies, and many kinds of lotions.
c. In this country, Irish moss is commercially harvested in Maine.
d. The agar used to grow bacteria and other media, such as the bread
mold in the fungi experiment, is derived from red algae.
e. Some red algae are eaten by humans.
B. Diatoms (Golden-brown algae; Division Bacillariophyta)
1. Largest group of algae but many of its species still undescribed.
2. Evolution- A relatively recent group; diatoms did not exist in the age of the
dinosaurs.
3. Habitat: cool marine oceans
a. Very important in food chains- especially in cooler, marine waters as
phytoplankton
4. Structure: mostly unicellular
a. Silica in cell walls (tiny glass houses); cell walls fit like a Petri dish [slow
to load but worth it!]
5. Reproduction- asexual for several generations, then sexual (to restore size)
Tired of studying real diatoms? Try these!
C. Kelps (brown algae; Division Phaeophyta)
1. Evolution- Closely related to diatoms and also a young group, but very different
in appearance.
2. Habitat: rocky coasts in temperate zones or open seas (cold water algae)
3. Structure: multicellular only. Some attain great size- 180 feet and grow 2 feet
per day.
4. Examples: shoreline: Laminaria; open ocean: Sargassum
D. Dinoflagellates (Division Pyrrhophyta or Dinophyta)
1. Evolution
2. Habitat: Especially important in food chains in warm, tropical oceans
3. Structure: Mainly unicellular.
a. Green and colorless forms (some phagotrophic, some parasitic- e.g. fish
kills on the Pokomoke river by Pfiesteria
b. Biflagellate
 c. Nucleus unusual- chromosomes always visible
d. Some bioluminescent forms- light up when water is disturbed
e. Reproduction commonly asexual
E. Green algae (Division Chlorophyta)
1. Next to the golden-brown diatoms, the green algae are the second largest group
of algae.
2. They are also the most diverse of the algae, with at least 7000 species.
3. Evolution- almost as old as red algae
4. Habitat: They are found mostly in fresh waters and on land. Most species float
in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and creeks.
a. They can also live on rocks, soil, and tree bark.
b. A few species, such as sea lettuce (Ulva), live in the salt water along the
coast. Large, thin sheets of sea lettuce often totally obscure the muddy
bottom in sheltered bay and estuary habitats.
5. Structure: Green algae are organisms with a variety of body forms including
single cells, filaments, colonies, and thalli (singular - thallus, multicellular forms
that have a leaf-like shape).
a. The higher terrestrial plants arose from a green algal ancestor. They
possess the same photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a and b) and
some green algae have stiff cell walls composed of cellulose, as do
plants.
6. Commercial:
a. Green algae are an important source of oxygen and food for aquatic
organisms.
b. Some are consumed as food by humans.
7. Examples - fresh water: Volvox, Spirogyra; marine: sea lettuce (Ulva)
III. Significance to humans
A. Beneficial algae
1. Base of the aquatic food chain- especially important are the diatoms and
dinoflagellates
a. Seaweeds are not only food, but shelter for aquatic organisms- especially
important are the kelps, which form underwater forests; Sargasso Sea
community
b. Some red algae are reef builders in tropical seas; as important or more
important than coral animals
2. Other uses of importance and their history (e.g., fertilizer, fodder, etc.) and algal
farming
B. Harmful algae- excess growth causes:
1. Clogging of waterways, streams, and filters- when water is polluted with
nutrients such as fertilizer or sewage
a. A bad taste to water when present in large numbers
b. Toxicity to animals (paralytic shellfish poisoning, red tides- both caused
by dinoflagellates)
C. Commercial uses of algae
1. Algin- thickening agent in ice cream, marshmallows- from brown algae;
carrageenan- in foods, puddings, laxatives, toothpaste- from red algae
2. Iodine- from brown algae
3. Agar- from red algae
4. Food- especially reds and browns- important in East Asia
5. Diatomaceous earth- used for filtering, insulating, and soundproofing