LECTURE 6 Phaeo and Rhodo

PHAEOPHYTA (The Brown algae)
 They are almost exclusively marine and most of them are

also called the sea weeds
 They are relatively large in size and form branching

filaments
 Many of the brown algae have a thallus that are flattened

and is differentiated into a holdfast , a stipe and leaflike
blades
 The holdfast is a tough structure resembling a mass of

intertwined roots
Brown algae cont’d
 It holds the seaweeds to rocks
 Stipe is the stalk that joins holdfast to the leaflike

blades
 The blades and most of the body are photosynthetic

and may have gas filled floats called bladders towards
their bases
 The bladders enable the blades to float

Structure of a brown algae
Brown algae cont’d
The colour ranges from light yellow brown to almost black
reflecting the presence of varying amounts of the brown
pigment called Fucoxanthin in addition to chlorophyll a and c
and several other pigments in the chloroplasts
• Main food reserve is laminarin, a carbohydrate algin or alginic

acid
• The only motile cells are reproductive cells

• Members include Fucus , Macrocystis, Nereocystis and
Sargassum.
Fucus
• The rockweed -Fucus , separate male and female thalli are
produced or both sexes may develop on the same thallus
Fucus cont’d
 They attach to rocks in ocean waters
 The plant body is strap like, brown and several times

dichotomously branched
 Reproduction is entirely sexual and is oogamus
 The plants are diploid in nature and produce haploid

gametes
Sexual reproduction
• Fertile areas called receptacles develop at the tips of
the branches of the thallus
• The surface of each receptacle is dotted with pores that

open into a hollow chamber called conceptacles
• Within conceptacles are gametangia (cells or

structures where gametes are produced) are formed
• Eight eggs are produced in each oogonium(female

gametangia)
Sexual reproduction cont’d
• Eight eggs are produced in each oogonium(female
gametangia) as aresult of single diploid nuclues
undergoing meiosis followed by mitosis
• Meiosis also occurs in each antheridium , this is followed

by four mitotic divisions so that 64 sperms are produced
• Eventually both the eggs and the sperms are released into
the water where fertilization takes place
• and the zygote developes into a mature diploid thallus,

completing the life cycle
Meiosis Mitosis
n
n
Egg
(2n) n
n
All the eight eggs

are haploid (n)
Mitosis 1
meiosis 4 (n) 8 (n)
sperm sperm
(2n) cells cells
Mitosis 2
16 (n)
sperm
cells
Mitosis 3
64 (n) 32 (n)
sperm sperm
cells cells
Mitosis 4
Life cycle of Fucus sp
RHODOPHYTA (Red algae)
• Most red algae are sea weeds i.e occur in marine
environment
• They are normally attached to the rocks but are

exposed during low tides
• A few are unicellular but most of them are filamentous

with branches
• The filaments are usually tightly packed that the plants

appear to have flattened blades or form branching
segments
Red algae cont’d
 They have complex life cycles often involving three
different types of thalli structures
 All the reproductive cells are non motile and are

carried by water currents
 The colour is due to phycobillins

Polysiphonia
 They are branched to
many fine thread like
segments
 The principal food reserve

is floridean starch
 Sexual reproduction is
oogamus
Sexual reproduction
 Spermatangia , the male sex structures slightly resemble
dense clusters of tiny grapes on slender branches of male
gametophyte thallus
 Each spermatangium contains a single spermatium that

functions as a non motile male gamete
 The female sex structures are called carpogonia are

produced on the female gametophyte thallus
 Each carpogonium consists of a single cell called

trichogyne
• A single nuclues at the base of carpogonium functions as
the female gamete or the egg
• Since spermatia have no flagella, they cannot move and

are simply carried by water currents to a considerable
distances
• If a spermatium brushes against a trichogyne, it may

become attached
• The walls between the spermatium and the trichogyne

breaks down
Sexual reproduction
 The nuclues of the spermatium migrates to the egg
nuclues and the nuclei unite forming a zygote
 Zygote devides and form a cluster of club like

carposporangia
 Diploid asexual spores called carpospores are

produced in carposporangia released then carried
away by ocean currents
 When a carpospore is deposited in a suitable location, it
germinates into a tetrasporophyte which closely
resembles a gametophyte thallus
 Along the branches of tetrasporophyte form

tetrasporangia
 Each tetrasporangium undergoes meiosis giving rise to

four haploid tetraspores
 The tetraspores germinate and develop into male and
female gametophytes thereby completing the life cycle
Life cycle in Polysiphonia sp.
 Male gametophyte (n) Female gametophyte(n)
Spermatangium Carpogonium
egg
Spermatium
Zygote
Carposporangium
Carpospores
Tetrasporophyte
Tetrasporangium
meiosis
Tetraspores
 READ ON…
XANTHOPHYTA (Yellow green
algae)
• Are mostly fresh water organisms with few marine and
terrestrial representatives
• Undergoe both sexual and asexual reproduction
• Sexual reproduction is relatively rare but when it
occurs it exhibitsspecialization with oogonia and
anthridia being formed on special branches
• Aplanospores are commonly formed during asexual
reproduction
Yellow green algae cont’d
 Examples include; Vaucheria, Stipitococcus,
Dinobryon
CHRYSOPHYTA (The golden brown
algae)
 Most of them occur in fresh water
 Motile cells have two flagella of unequal lengths
 Some species have eye spots/photoreceptor/light
sensitive area on the short flagellum
 Silica scales are present in some species
BACILLARIOPHYTA (Diatoms)
• Mostly diploid unicellular algae
• Occur in high numbers in both fresh and salt water
but are particularly abundant in marine habitats
• A major constituent of the foam that accumulates at a
waveline on beaches is an oil produced by diatoms
• Also occur in damp cliffs, bark of trees, bare soils
Diatoms cont’d
 Diatoms look like tiny glass boxes with lid where half
of the rigid crystal clear wall fits inside the other
overlapping half
 95% of the wall content is silica/silicon dioxide
 The walls are able to persist even after the death of the
protoplasts within
 Two series of diatoms have been distinguished on the
basis of their symmetry
Diatoms cont’d
 Pennate types are
bilaterally symmetrical
whereas the centric types
are radially symmetrical
Diatoms cont’d
• All diatom cells are composed of two slightly
overlapping cell walls each may have one , two or many
chloroplasts per cell
• The inner layer of the cell wall is made up of pectin
which envelop the protoplasm. The outer layer is made
up of a hydrated silica which consists of two
overlapping halves.
• The upper half is known as the epitheca while the
inner lower half is called the hypotheca
Diatoms cont’d
 Have fucoxanthin as the dorminant pigment but also
have chlorophyll a, c1 and c2
 Food reserves are in form of oils, fats and carbohydrate

called the laminarin

LECTURE 6 Phaeo and Rhodo

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LECTURE 6 Phaeo and Rhodo

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PHAEOPHYTA (The Brown algae)

 They are almost exclusively marine and most of them are

 They are relatively large in size and form branching

 Many of the brown algae have a thallus that are flattened

 The holdfast is a tough structure resembling a mass of

 Stipe is the stalk that joins holdfast to the leaflike

 The blades and most of the body are photosynthetic

 The bladders enable the blades to float

• Main food reserve is laminarin, a carbohydrate algin or alginic

• The only motile cells are reproductive cells

 The plant body is strap like, brown and several times

 Reproduction is entirely sexual and is oogamus

 The plants are diploid in nature and produce haploid

• The surface of each receptacle is dotted with pores that

• Within conceptacles are gametangia (cells or

• Eight eggs are produced in each oogonium(female

• Meiosis also occurs in each antheridium , this is followed

• and the zygote developes into a mature diploid thallus,

All the eight eggs

• They are normally attached to the rocks but are

• A few are unicellular but most of them are filamentous

• The filaments are usually tightly packed that the plants

 All the reproductive cells are non motile and are

 The colour is due to phycobillins

 The principal food reserve

 Each spermatangium contains a single spermatium that

 The female sex structures are called carpogonia are

 Each carpogonium consists of a single cell called

• Since spermatia have no flagella, they cannot move and

• If a spermatium brushes against a trichogyne, it may

• The walls between the spermatium and the trichogyne

 Zygote devides and form a cluster of club like

 Diploid asexual spores called carpospores are

 Along the branches of tetrasporophyte form

 Each tetrasporangium undergoes meiosis giving rise to

 Food reserves are in form of oils, fats and carbohydrate

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