Algae

Bryon= moss
Phyton= plant
objectives
• Students must be able to:
1. Know the general features of algae, diatoms, Red algae, ‘brown algae and
green algae
2. Classify Bryophytes and know there characteristics
3. Know industrial and pharmaceutical uses of bryophytes
 ALGAE
• Kingdom Protista

• Eukaryotic cells- (cells have organelles)

• Algae are mostly photosynthetic, like plants:

• Have 4 kinds of photosynthetic pigments
• Many accessory pigments – blue, red, brown, gold

• Require moist environments because they lack a waxy cuticle

(remember: cuticle prevents water loss in terrestrial plants)
General features of Algae
• Can be microscopic or macroscopic:
size ranges from bacteria size to 50 meters long!
• Lack vascular (conducting) tissues –
No xylem or phloem
• No true roots, stems or leaves
• Modes of sexual reproduction:
• Both sexual and asexual; they may have gametes if sexual
• Algae illustrate the importance of photosynthesis to the Earth’s
ecology!
 1. Diatoms

• Diatoms: Division Bacillariophyta

• Large group of algae (many unidentified). Relatively recently evolved
group
• Habitat: Diatoms live in cool oceans
• Structure: mostly unicellular, have silica in their cell walls
 Diatoms
• Very important for aquatic food chains: they provide phytoplankton
sun

Phytoplankton  Zooplankton  small fish  larger fish

mollusks whales

• Can reproduce asexually for many generations, then sexually

• MEDICINAL VALUES: They produce unique products like carotenoids,
antioxidants, fatty acids, enzymes, polymers, peptides, toxins and
sterols.
 3. Red Algae
• Red algae: Division Rhodophyta (4000 species)

• Are some of the oldest eukaryotic organisms on

earth (2 billion year old fossils)

• Abound in tropical, warm waters

• Act as food and habitat for many marine species

• Structure: from thin films to complex

filamentous membranes
 Why are Red algae red?
• Accessory pigments! Phycobilins mask the Chlorophyll a – thus they look
red.
• Phycobilins (from Greek: φύκος (phykos) meaning "alga", and from Latin:
bilis meaning "bile") are water-soluble pigments found in the stroma of
chloroplast organelles that aid light-capturing in cyanobacteria and in the
chloroplasts of red algae. May either be phycocyanin or phycoerythrin
• Due to these accessory pigments, red algae can photosynthesize in deeper
waters (at different light wavelengths).
 Red algae
• Commercial uses: Carrageenan- a
polysaccharide used for making ice cream,
jellies, syrups, breads.
• Also for lotions, toothpaste, pharmaceutical
jellies.
• Agar(made up of sugar galactose) for growing
bacteria and fungi for research purposes.
 4. Kelps or Brown Algae
• Kelps: Division Phaeophyta
• Closely related to diatoms, also a recent group… but look very different from
diatoms!
• Habitat: rocky coasts in temperate zones or open seas (cold waters)
• Structure: multicellular only
• Holdfast, stipe, blade, air bladder
• Up to 50 meters long
• Obesity control, adjuvant in hypothyroidism, blood sugar control, to 
enhance overall metabolism and increase basal metabolic rate, to reduce cholesterol
levels – as an infusion. Used in the manufacture of algenic acid . The combination of
alginic acid with aluminium hydroxide and magnesium carbonate is used in the
treatment of stomach ulcers and other conditions caused by excess stomach acid.
Also used to treat heartburn, upset stomach, sour stomach or acid ingestion.
 5. Green Algae
• Division: Chlorophyta
• Largest and most diverse group of algae
• Habitat: found mostly in fresh waters and on land.
• Float in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, creeks.
• Can also live on rocks, trees, soil
 Green algae
• Sea lettuce (Ulva) lives in salt waters along the coast.
• Structure of green algae: from
• Single cells (Micrasterias)

• Filaments

• Colonies (Volvox)

• Thalli (leaf-like shape)

 Green algae

• Terrestrial plants arose from a green algal ancestor

• Both have the same photosynthetic pigments

(Chlorophyll a and b).

• Some green algae have a cell wall made of cellulose

• Cells divide similarly

 Benefits of Algae
• Beneficial algae:
• They are the base of the aquatic food chain – photosynthetic
organisms
• Lichens: algae and fungi symbiosis
• Also serve as shelters: Kelps form underwater forests; red alga form
reefs
 Commercial uses of algae
• Algin – a thickening agent for food processing (brown
algae)
• Carrageenan – foods, puddings,
ice cream, toothpaste (red algae)
• Iodine (brown algae)
• Agar – for growth media
used in research (red algae)
• As food – red and brown algae
• As plant fertilizers
• Diatomaceous earth: used for filtering water,
insulating, soundproofing