Algae 2/3:

1. Unicelluar algae
(various groups)

2. Green algae (Chlorophyta)

Unicellular algae
Euglena
Diatom
Dinoflagellate
Golden
Algae
 Unicellular algal groups
• Cyanophyta (Blue-green Algae;
prokaryotes)
• Diatoms
• Dinoflagellates
• Chrysophyta
• Chlorophyta (Green Algae)
• Rhodophyta (Red Algae)
 Occurrence of Unicellulars
• Phytoplankton (freshwater, marine)
• Benthic microalgae
• Epiphytic (on other algae) or on rocks,
sediments, etc.
• Terrestrial algae (walls, trees, etc)
• Symbioses: in lichens, root nodules, marine
sponges
• Parasites (e.g. heterotropic dinoflagellates)
• Hot springs
• Ice algae (‘red snow’)
 How to distinguish between
different unicellular algae?
• Pigments?
• Flagella: types of movement?
• Type of reproduction (sexual, asexual)?
• Life history?
• Cell structure?
• Formation of colonies or filaments?
 Cyanobacteria (Cyanophyta)

• = ‘Blue-green Algae’
• Prokaryotic, no cell organelles
• Pigments: chlorophyll a, phycoerythrin +
phycocyanin
• Only asexual reproduction
• Some can fix atmospheric Nitrogen
• Can form blooms
• In extreme habitats (e.g. hot springs)
• In lichens
Cyanobacteria bloom
Terrestrial environments
Extreme halophytes
Hot springs
Figure 28.3 Euglena: an example of a singleĞcelled protist
 Spirogyra
Conjugation
Diatoms
Figure 28.17 Diatoms: Diatom diversity (left), Pinnularia (left)
Figure 28.17x Diatom shell
 Diatom Characteristics
• 2 orders:
• Centrales: radial symmetry (centric diatoms)
• Pennales: bilateral symmetry (pennate diatoms)

• Cell wall consists of 2 shells

• Large top shell (‘lid’): Epitheca
• Small bottom shell (‘box’): Hypotheca
• Cell wall contains silica
 Diatom Characteristics II

• Forming cysts as resting stages if

conditions are unfavourable

• Accessory pigments: golden coloured

Dinoflagellates
 Dinoflagellate Characteristics
• Generally unicellular, may form colonies or
filaments
• Chlorophyll a and a range of other pigments
giving lots of different colours
• Numerous colourless genera (animal-like):
heterotrophic!
• 2 flagella:
• one apically inserted
• one in equatorial groove (=‘horizontal slit’)
 Dinoflagellates
Importance:

• Harmful algal blooms

• Toxic algal blooms: shellfish
poisoning
• Parasites: fish and copepodes
• Symbionts: sponges
 Dinoflagellates: Red Tides
• often the cause of “red tides” or blooms of
toxic or non-toxic cells

• blooms may cause mass mortalities of marine

and freshwater organisms

• contain toxins that are accumulated by

shellfish and cause PSP (Paralytic Shellfish
Poisoning)

• Some species produce small amounts of light

by means of enzymes
 Green Algae (Chlorophyta)
• About 7000 species

• 3 Classes:
• Chlorophyceae
• Charophyceae
• Prasinophyceae

• Some relatively closely related to land plants:

(Charophyceae)
Chlorophyta - Green Algae
• Morphological types:
• unicellular
• multicellular
• colonial
• coenocytic (one large cell
with no cross walls)

• Some symbiotic (e.g. in

lichens)
• Asexual and sexual
reproduction
 Green Algae - Characteristics
• Pigments:
• Chlorophylls a and b,
• ß-carotene and various xanthophylls
• Food reserves:
• true starch, fats and oils
• Eukaryotic algae:
• membrane-bound organelles
• Flagella:
• 2 or 4,
• apically inserted,
• smooth
 Distribution of Green Algae

• >90% freshwater, some marine

• planktonic in ocean and freshwater

• ‘terrestrial’ environments

• in lichens = symbiosis of alga + fungus;

• exchange of nutrients between partners
 Distribution and habitats
• Common in ponds, ditches etc.
• Attached to rocks
• May be free floating
• Often in brackish water
• Shallow, nutrient-rich water
• Important marine algae in tropics
 Examples of Green Algae
• Chlamydomonas
• Chara
• Volvox
• Caulerpa
• Codium
• Ulva
• Enteromorpha
Chara
Volvox colony
Caulerpa
Codium

© D. Stengel
 Ulva and Enteromorpha
• 2 genera of marine or
brackish-water green algae
• Ulva:
• flat (“Sea Lettuce”)
• 2 layers thick
• Enteromorpha
• tubular
• 1 layer thick
• No true tissues
• cells are almost exactly the
same throughout the thallus
 Ulva and Enteromorpha
• Both reproduce sexually and asexually
• Fast growth rates
• High metabolic rates
• Fast nutrient uptake
• Occupy new spaces after disturbances

• May form Green Tides:

• High light
• High nutrients (e.g. sewage)
 Enteromorpha + Ulva: Reproduction
• Asexual reproduction: Bi-flagellate zoospores
• Sexual reproduction:
• Gametophytes (1n) form biflagellate
isogametes; fuse in pairs -> germinate ->
form sporophyte (2n).
• Sporophyte cells undergo meiosis -> form
quadriflagellate zoospores (1n) -> release ->
form the gametophytes (1n).
• Sporophyte isomorphic to gametophyte
except that it is diploid.
Life cycle of Ulva +
Enteromorpha
• Diphasic:
Sporophyte and Gametophyte

• Isomorphic:
S. and G. morphologically similar

• Isogamous:
F and M gametes morphologically similar
Ulva life-cycle: isomorphic