pyro

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 11

Dr.Ayad M.J.

Lecture ‐7‐ Algae


2016
Lecture ‐7‐

Pyrrophyta (Dinoflagellates)

1‐General features

A-species, including toxic forms, but toxic forms unknown in freshwater


lakes Wide variety of marine.

B-Not commonly dominant in lakes but can be important, e.g. under ice
in winter and at various times of year in large, oligotrophic lakes. Most
are motile. Typically slow growing, some are mixotrophic (bacterivores).

C-Habitat: A majority of the dinoflagellates are marine, and they are


often abundant in the plankton, but some occur in fresh water.

D-Forms: Mostly unicellular, branched filamentous and motile.

E-The cell wall has stiff cellulose plates on the outer surface.

F-Most of them have two flagella; one lies longitudinally and the other
transversely in a furrow between the wall plates.

G-Nutrition: Photosynthetic and reserve food is starch and oil.

H-Pigments: They appear yellow, green, brown, blue or red depending on


the main pigments present in their cells. Most have chlorophylls a and c,
in addition to carotenoids.

I-Locomotion: Most of have two flagella. The flagella are usually


located within grooves, one encircling the body like a belt, and the
other perpendicular to it. By beating in their respective grooves,
these flagella cause the dinoflagellate to rotate like a top as it moves.

1
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016

J-Flagellates with hard ‘armour’ covering (tends to be inedible – large


and spiny)

K-Reserve food material: Starch and Fat.

L- Reproduction: Sexual reproduction isogamous type (rare).

Dinoflagellates are a large group of flagellate protists. Most are marine


plankton, but they are common in fresh water habitats as well. Their
populations are distributed depending on temperature, salinity, or depth.
Many dinoflagellates are known to be photosynthetic, but a large fraction
of these are in fact mixotrophic, combining photosynthesis with ingestion
of prey. In terms of number of species, dinoflagellates form one of the
largest groups of marine eukaryotes, although this group is substantially
smaller than the diatoms. Some species are endosymbionts of marine
animals and play an important part in the biology of coral reefs. Other
dinoflagellates are colorless predators on other protozoa, and a few forms
are parasitic (see for example Oodinium, Pfiesteria). Some dinoflagellates
produce resting stages, called dinoflagellate cysts or dinocysts, as part of
their life cycles.

2
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016
2‐Dinoflagellates Classification

Although classified as eukaryotes, the dinoflagellate nuclei are not


characteristically eukaryotic, as they lack histones, nucleosomes and
maintain continually condensed chromosomes during mitosis. In fact,
Dodge (1966) termed the dinoflagellate nucleus as ‘mesokaryotic’, due to
its possession of intermediate characteristics between the coiled DNA
areas of prokaryotic bacteria and the well-defined eukaryotic nucleus.
This group, however, does contain typically eukaryotic organelles, such
as Golgi bodies, mitochondria and chloroplasts. Dinophyceae into
following six orders: 1. Desmomonadales, 2. Thecatales, 3.
Dinophysiales, 4. Dinoflagellata, 5. Dinococcales, 6. Dinotrichales

Figure 1: Thallus organization in Pyrrophyta: (a) Peridinium (b) Ceratium (c) Dinococcus as an
epiphyte on Melosira (diatom) (d) Gonyaulax (e) Stylodinium as an epiphyte on
Oedogonium (f) Dinothrix

3
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016
.

2‐Dinoflagellates Morphology

Dinoflagellates cells consist of two parts, an anterior or top


epicone/epitheca and a posterior hypocone/hypotheca which are separated
by cingulum Dinoflagellate’s beautiful and ornamental covering resemble

superficially with diatoms as the two groups differ in both structure and
chemical composition. The cell covering in dinoflagellates (also known
as amphiesma or armour) is a useful means of subdivision this group. In
many species each alveolus contains a flat thecal plate composed of
cellulose (armored or thecate), whereas in other species alveoli are devoid
such content (naked or unarmored). The distinction of naked and armored
dinoflagellates is not absolute due to presence of some transitional types
of cell covering. Basic structure of all dinoflagellate’s amphiesma remain
same, consisting of several layers of membrane: an outermost continuous
membrane, flattened vesicles and an innermost continuous membrane
sometimes interpreted to be the plasmalemma The dinoflagellates armour
is divided into an upper (apical) and a lower (antapical) half, and consist
of polygonal plates, which fit tightly against each other The wall of
armored dinoflagellates is arranged in thecal plates followed by pellicle
and plasmalemma. The number and arrangement of plates in the theca are
one of the most useful criteria in the systematics of armored
dinoflagellates. Although relatively rare, scales occur outside the plasma
membrane in some dinoflagellates.

4
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016

Figure2: General Structure of Dinoflagellates

3‐ some of the unusual features of dinoflagellates

1-Trichocysts :are rodlike, proteinaceous body and discharged into


medium by a rapid hydration process. Trichocysts may be upto 100/cell.
These structures are very similar to the Trichocysts of ciliate protozoa,
except that the protozoan Trichocysts capped with a spine. Trichocysts
develop within the Golgi apparatus and are produce within a sac.
According to some experts trichocysts release cause a jet-propulsive
response that is useful in escaping from predator because after discharge
they become much longer and thinner. Relatively simple sacs that release
mucilage to the cell exterior known as mucocysts .

2-Nematocysts or cnidocysts: (comparable structure to Coelenterata) are


elaborate ejectile organelles of Nimatodinium and Polykrikos. They may
be upto 8–10/cell.

5
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016

3-Peduncle: an extendable organelle, composed of compact rows of


microtubules and other structure, emerges at the junction of sulcus and
cingulum.

4- Muciferous bodies are present just beneath the cell membrane

4‐Life cycle and Reproduction

Dinoflagellates have a haplontic life cycle - with the possible exception


of Noctiluca and its relatives. The life-cycle usually involves asexual
reproduction by means of binary fission, either
through desmoschisis or eleuteroschisis. More complex life cycles occur,
more particularly with parasitic dinofagellates. Sexual reproduction also
occurs and is only known in a small percentage of dinoflagellates. This
takes place by fusion of two individuals to form a zygote, which may
remain mobile in typical dinoflagellate fashion and is then called a
planozygote. This zygote may later form a resting stage or hypnozygote,
which are called dinoflagellate cyst ordinocyst. After (or before)
germination of the cyst, the hatchling undergoes meiosis to produce
new haploid cells.

Fig. 3: Examples of planozyotes, which are characterized by two longitudinal flagella


(arrows) instead of one, in Alexandrium minutum (left) and Alexandrium taylori (right)

6
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016

Asexual reproduction can happen much more quickly, and therefore is the
predominant way of reproduction during optimal environmental
conditions, but sexual reproduction is essential for species adaptation and
survival because it allows for genetic recombination (i.e. genetic
variability). During the sexual phase, two haploid cells called gametes
fuse to form a diploid mobile zygote (planozygote) that will undergo
meiosis to restore the vegetative stage.

The most common pathway reported until very recently was the transition
of the planozygote to a quiescent, environmentally resistant stage known
as resting cyst (a dormant not motile hypnozygote with a thick wall).
Other types of quiescent stages are cysts with a thin wall and less
capacity to withstand adverse environmental conditions than the resting
cysts. These cysts - found in the bibliography with different names such
as temporal, pellicle or ecdysal cysts - can be sexual or asexual, this last
case being the fastest way to produce a cyst.

Fig.4:Dinoflagellates Life Cycle. 1-Binary fission, 2-Sexual reproduction, 3-planozygote, 4-


hypnozygote, 5-planomeiocyte.

7
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016

Figure 5 : Dinoflagellates Life Cycle in details.

4‐Dinoflagellates harmful blooms

Dinoflagellates sometimes bloom in concentrations of more than a


million cells per millilitre. Some species produce neurotoxins, which in
such quantities kill fish and accumulate in filter feeders such as shellfish,
which in turn may pass them on to people who eat them. This
phenomenon is called a red tide, from the color the bloom imparts to the
water. Some colorless dinoflagellates may also form toxic blooms, such
as Pfiesteria. Some dinoflagellate blooms are not dangerous. Bluish
flickers visible in ocean water at night often come from blooms
of bioluminescent dinoflagellates, which emit short flashes of light when
disturbed. red tide mentioned is more specifically produced when
dinoflagellates are able to reproduce rapidly and copiously on account of
the abundant nutrients in the water. Although the resulting red waves are
an unusual sight, they contain toxins that not only affect all marine life in
the ocean, but the people who consume them, as well. A specific carrier

8
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016
is shellfish. This can introduce both nonfatal and fatal illnesses. One such
poison is saxitoxin, a powerful paralytic. Human inputs
of phosphate further encourage these red tides, so there is a strong interest
in learning more about dinoflagellates, from both medical and economic
perspectives.

Figure 6:Red tide

4‐Dinoflagellates Bioluminescence

At night, water can have an appearance of sparkling light due to


the bioluminescence of dinoflagellates. More than 18 genera of
dinoflagellates are bioluminescent, and the majority of them emit a blue-
green light.

These species contain scintillons, individual cytoplasmic bodies (ca.


0.5 µm in diameter) distributed mainly in the cortical region of the cell,
outpockets of the main cell vacuole.

9
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016

They containdinoflagellate luciferase, the main enzyme involved in


dinoflagellate bioluminescence, and luciferin, a chlorophyll-derived
tetrapyrrole ring that acts as the substrate to the light-producing reaction.
The luminescence occurs as a brief (0.1 sec) blue flash (max 476 nm)
when stimulated, usually by mechanical disturbance. Therefore, when
mechanically stimulated—by boat, swimming or wavesThe luciferin-
luciferase reaction responsible for the bioluminescence is pH sensitive.
When the pH drops, luciferase changes its shape, allowing luciferin, more
specifically tetrapyrrole, to bind. Dinoflagellates can use bioluminescence
as a defense mechanism. They can startle their predators by their flashing
light or they can ward off potential predators by an indirect effect such as
the burglar alarm. The dinoflagellate can use its bioluminescence to
attract attention to itself, thereby bringing attention to the predator and
making the predator more vulnerable to predators from higher trophic
levels.

Figure 7: Dinoflagellates Bioluminescence

10
Dr.Ayad M.J. Lecture ‐7‐ Algae
2016
References

Andersen RA (2004) Biology and systematics of heterokont and


haptophyte algae. Am J Bot 91:1508–1522.

Andreoli C, Moro I, La Rocca N, Rigoni F, Dalla Valle L, Bargelloni L


(1999) Pseudopleurochloris antarctica gen. et sp. nov. a new coccoid
xanthophycean from pack-ice of Wood Bay (Ross Sea,
Antarctica):ultrastructure, pigments and 18S rRNA gene sequence. Eur J
Phycol 34:149–159.

Ariztia EV, Andersen RA, Sogin ML (1991) A new phylogeny for


chromophyte algae using 16S-like rRNA sequences from Mallomonas
papillosa (Synurophyceae) and Tribonema aequales (Xanthophyceae). J
Phycol 27:428–436

Blatt MR (1983) The action spectrum for chloroplast movements and


evidence for bluelight–photoreceptor cycling in the Vaucheria. Planta
159:267–276

Blatt MR, Briggs WR (1980) Blue-light-induced cortical fiber


reticulation concomitant with chloroplast aggregation in the alga.
Vaucheria Sessilis 147(4):335–362.

11

You might also like