BOI 101/3-Algae

Organisms Biodiversity

Prof Madya Dr. Rahmad Zakaria

rahmadz@usm.my
Adapted from:
Dr. Rosazlina Rusly
rosazlinarusly@usm.my
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Characteristic of the Six Kingdoms

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What are Protists ?

• The term Protista was first used by Ernst Haeckel in the
year 1886.
• The first protists evolved probably 1.7 billion years ago.
Members of Protista are primarily aquatic in nature. It is
a very large group comprising at least 16 phyla.
• Biologists estimate that there are as many as 200,000
species of protists living today.
• They are simple eukaryotic organisms. Most organisms
are unicellular, some are colonial, and some are
multicellular like algae.
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Evolutionary relationships
among eukaryotes

Unraveling evolutionary
relationships among the
protists has been difficult,
but progress is occurring.
A protist is any eukaryotic organism {organisms
whose cells have a membrane-bound nucleus} that
is not an animal, land plant, or fungus.
They do not form a natural group, or clade, but are a
polyphyletic grouping (organisms that are grouped
together despite not being closely related) of several
independent clades that evolved from the last
eukaryotic common ancestor.

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Three types of I. Animal‐like
Protist Protists

II. Plant‐like
Protists

III. Fungi‐like
Protists
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 The green substance
Plant‐like protists
in their cells enable
have chlorophyll like
them to make food
that in plants.
by photosynthesis.

Plant‐like Protists ‐
ALGAE They produce and
release oxygen like
The plant‐like protists
the plants. It is
are the major food
believed to be the
source and primary
Algae vs algal?? Algae is a broad term used to most supply of
producers for aquatic
categorize all the eukaryotic organisms that oxygen on Earth is
organisms.
are not true plants but can carry out from the plant‐like
photosynthesis on their own (producing protists.
oxygen). Algal organisms can either be
unicellular or they can be multicellular and
complex.
 Structure of Algae Cells

• The body of algae is called the thallus (1n).

• Algae may be unicellular, colonial, filamentous,
or multicellular.
• Unicellular algae are single-celled & make up
phytoplankton (a population of photosynthetic
organisms that begins many aquatic food
chains).
• Colonial algae consist of groups of cells working
together.
• Some colonial algal cells may specialize for
movement, feeding, or reproduction showing for
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Algae Classification and Characteristics

A: Phylum Euglenophyta (euglenoids)
• Euglenoids are both plantlike and animal-like.
Euglenoids were classified in the plant kingdom
(with the algae) because many are photosynthetic
and in the animal kingdom because they move, and
some of them feed.
• There are about 900 species of euglenoids.
• Most are unicellular flagellates that have two
flagella, one long and one so short that it does not
protrude outside the cell.
• A euglenoid changes shape continually as it moves
through the water, because its outer covering, called
a pellicle, is flexible rather than rigid.
• Euglenoids reproduce asexually by cell division.
• Most euglenoids contain chloroplasts and
photosynthesize. They have chlorophyll a,
chlorophyll b, and carotenoids, the same pigments
found in green algae and plants.
• Energy reserves are stored as a polysaccharide
called paramylon.
• Most euglenoids inhabit freshwater ponds and
puddles, particularly those with large amounts of
organic material. For that reason, their numbers are
used to detect organic pollution.
• Euglena is a common euglenoid found in freshwater.
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 • Some 2000 to 4000 species of
dinoflagellates are known.
B. Phylum Dinophyta/ • Most are unicellular (making up plankton),
although a few are colonies.

Pyrrophyta (dinoflagellates) • Their cells are often covered with shells of

interlocking cellulose plates, some of which
contain silica (silicon dioxide) that impart
strength.
• Each dinoflagellate is biflagellated (has two
flagella). One is wrapped like a belt around a
transverse groove in the center of the cell,
and the other is located in a longitudinal
groove (at a right angle to the transverse
groove). The undulation of these flagella---
like a spinning top.
• Most dinoflagellates are photosynthetic and
have the pigments chlorophyll a,
chlorophyll c, and carotenoids.
• A special yellow-brown carotenoid,
fucoxanthin. However, other dinoflagellates
are colorless (and therefore
nonphotosynthetic) and ingest other
microorganisms for food.
• Dinoflagellates usually store energy reserves
as oils or polysaccharides.
• Reproduction in the dinoflagellates is
primarily asexual, by cell division, although a
few species reproduce sexually.
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• A few dinoflagellates are known

to have occasional population
explosions, or blooms. These
Bloom (red tides) blooms, known as red tides
frequently color the water
orange, red, or brown.
• Some of the dinoflagellate
species that form red tides
produce a toxin that attacks the
nervous systems of fishes,
leading to massive fish kills.
When airborne, this toxin
irritates the eyes and makes
breathing difficult for coastal
residents.
• Humans sometimes get paralytic
shellfish poisoning by eating
oysters, mussels, or clams that
have fed on certain
dinoflagellates. Paralytic shellfish
poisoning induces respiratory
failure and can result in death.
(The dinoflagellates do not
appear to harm the shellfish.)
 • At night, water can have an
Dinoflagellate bioluminescence 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.
• They contain dinoflagellate
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.
• Bioluminescent dinoflagellate
ecosystem bays are among the
rarest and most fragile.

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 April, 2023
Seagate, Penang (Near 2nd bridge)

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 • There are at least 100,000 species of diatoms

C. Phylum Bacillariophyta •
classified in the phylum Bacillariophyta.
Most are unicellular, although a few exist as
filaments or colonies.
(diatoms) • Diatoms are protected by a shell that is
composed of two halves that overlap where
they fit together.
• The shells are impregnated with silica, a
glasslike material laid down in striking, intricate
patterns, which are used to classify the species.
• Diatom cells have one of two shapes: radial
symmetry (wheel shaped) and bilateral
symmetry (boat shaped or needle shaped).
• Although most diatoms are part of the floating
plankton, some diatoms live on rocks and other
surfaces, where they move by gliding. The
secretion of a slimy material from a small groove
along the shell facilitates this gliding movement.
• Most diatoms are photosynthetic and contain
the pigments chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, and
carotenoids, including the yellow-brown
(fucoxanthin).
• Energy reserves are stored as oils or
carbohydrates.
• Diatoms most often reproduce asexually by cell
division.

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 • Diatoms are common in fresh water and ocean
water, but they are especially abundant in cooler

Diatomaceous earth •
marine waters.
They are major producers in aquatic ecosystems
because of their extremely large numbers. By some
estimates, diatoms are responsible for about 20
percent of all the photosynthesis that takes place in
the world, which means these organisms are of
major importance in the global carbon cycle.

• When diatoms die, their shells, which do not

decompose, trickle down and accumulate in layers
of what eventually becomes sedimentary rock.
After millions of years, geologic upheaval exposes
some of these deposits, called diatomaceous earth,
on land.
• Diatomaceous earth is mined and used as a
filtering, insulating, and soundproofing material. As
a filtering agent, it is used to refine raw sugar and
to process vegetable oils.
• Source of silica, for treating high cholesterol levels,
for treating constipation, and for improving the
health of skin, nails, teeth, bones, and hair.

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• About 1000 known species of golden

algae, classified in the phylum
D. Phylum Chrysophyta Chrysophyta, are found in both
freshwater and marine environments.

(golden algae) • Most species are biflagellate,

unicellular organisms, although some
are colonial.
• Tiny scales of either may cover the
cells. silica or calcium carbonate
• Reproduction in golden algae is
primarily asexual and involves the
production of biflagellate zoospores.
• Most golden algae are photosynthetic
and produce the same pigments as
diatoms: chlorophylls a and c and
carotenoids, including fucoxanthin.
The pigment composition of golden
algae gives them a golden- or golden-
brown color.
• As in diatoms, energy reserves are
stored as oils or carbohydrates.
• A few species ingest bacteria and
other particles of food.
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• About 1500 species of brown algae exist.

E. Phylum Phaeophyta • All brown algae are multicellular.
• Their bodies, which are tufts, ropes, or thick,
(brown algae) flattened branches, range in size from several
centimeters to 75 meters (about 250 feet) in
length.
• The largest brown algae, called kelps, are
tough and leathery in appearance and exhibit
considerable differentiation into leaflike
blades, stemlike stipes, and anchoring
holdfasts. Brown algae are photosynthetic
and have chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, and
carotenoids, including the yellow-brown
fucoxanthin, in their chloroplasts.
• The main energy reserve in brown algae is a
carbohydrate called laminarin.
• They reproduce sexually, and most spend a
portion of their lives as haploid organisms
and a portion as diploid organisms.
• Brown algae are common in cooler marine
waters, especially along rocky coastlines,
where they are found mainly in the intertidal
zone or in relatively shallow waters.
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i. Kelps (underwater forests)

• Kelps form extensive underwater
“forests” and are essential in that
ecosystem as the primary producer of
food.
• They often have gas-filled floats to
increase buoyancy.
• Kelp beds also provide habitats for
many marine invertebrates, fishes, and
mammals such as sea otters.
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ii. Algin • Brown algae are commercially

important for several reasons. Their cell
walls contain a polysaccharide, algin,
which possibly helps cement the cell
walls of adjacent cells.
• Algin is used as a thickening and
stabilizing agent in ice creams,
marshmallows, toothpastes, shaving
creams, hair sprays, and hand lotions.
• Humans, particularly in East Asian
countries, eat brown algae, which are a
rich source of certain vitamins and of
minerals such as iodine.
• Brown algae are one source of the
antiseptic tincture of iodine.
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•
F. Phylum Rhodophyta (red algae) There are 4000 to 6000 species of red
algae.
• The vast majority are multicellular
organisms, although a few unicellular
species exist.
• Red algae are sometimes delicate and
feathery, although a few species are
flattened sheets of cells.
• Most attach to rocks or other solid
materials with an anchoring holdfast.
• The chloroplasts of red algae contain
phycoerythrin, a red pigment, and
phycocyanin, a blue pigment, in addition
to chlorophyll a and carotenoids.
• Red algae store their energy reserves as a
polysaccharide (floridean starch) similar
to glycogen.
• Reproduction in the red algae has been
studied in detail for only a few species,
but it is remarkably complex, with an
alternation of sexual and asexual stages.
• The red algae are primarily found in
warm tropical oceans, although a few
species occur in fresh water and in soil.
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• The cell walls of red algae often

Agar and Carrageenan contain thick, sticky polysaccharides
that are of commercial value.
• Agar is a polysaccharide extracted
from certain red algae and used as a
food thickener and culture medium.
• Source of vitamins (particularly A and
C) and minerals for humans.
• Nori is the Japanese name for edible
red algae of the genus Porphyra.
After it is harvested, nori is processed
into thin, dry, paperlike sheets that
are used to wrap sushi and rice balls
and also added to soups, noodle
dishes, and sauces as a flavoring.
Carrageenan, is a food additive used to
stabilize chocolate milk and to provide a
thick, creamy texture to ice creams and
other soft, processed foods. Carrageenan is
also used to stabilize cosmetics and paints.

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G. Phylum
Chlorophyta (green
algae)
• Green algae exhibit many body forms and
methods of reproduction.
• Their body forms range from unicells to
colonies: siphonous (tubular) algae to
multicellular filaments and sheets.
• Most green algae are flagellated during at least
part of their life history, although there are a
few that are totally nonmotile.
• Green algae are photosynthetic, with
chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids
present in chloroplasts of a wide variety of
shapes.
• Starch (a polysaccharide) is the main energy
reserve. Most green algae have cell walls that
contain cellulose, although some lack walls and
some are covered with scales.
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• Reproduction in the green algae is as

Chlorophyta Reproduction varied as structure, and both sexual and
asexual reproduction occur.
• Asexual reproduction is by cell division
in unicellular forms or by fragmentation
in multicellular forms.
• Many green algae reproduce asexually
by forming reproductive cells called
spores by mitosis; if these spores are
flagellated and motile, they are called
zoospores. Each spore is capable of
developing into a new individual
without fusing with another cell as
gametes do.
• Sexual reproduction in the green algae
involves the types of sexual
reproduction are recognized in green
algae: isogamy, anisogamy, and oogamy.
 Reproduction I: Isogamous
• If the two gametes that fuse are
identical in size and appearance,
sexual reproduction is isogamous.
• Example: Life cycle of
Chlamydomonas.
• This haploid green alga has two
indistinguishable strains, (+) and (-).
Both strains reproduce asexually by
mitosis. During sexual reproduction, a
(+) gamete fuses with a (-) gamete to
form a diploid zygote. Meiosis occurs,
and four haploid cells emerge, two (+)
and two (-).

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Reproduction II: Anisogamous

• Anisogamous sexual reproduction involves

the fusion of two gametes that differ in size
and/or motility.
• Example: Life cycle of Ulva.
• This green alga alternates between haploid
and diploid multicellular phases, which are
identical in overall appearance.
• The male and female haploid algae give rise
to anisogamous gametes that fuse and
subsequently develop into the diploid alga.
• Special cells in the diploid alga undergo
meiosis to form haploid zoospores that
develop directly into haploid algae, and the
cycle continues.
Reproduction III: Oogamous
• Some green algae are oogamous
and produce large, nonmotile
female gametes (eggs) and small,
flagellated male gametes (sperm
cells).

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Reproduction IV: Conjugation

• Instead of sexual reproduction by the fusion of
gametes, some green algae join temporarily and
exchange genetic information through
conjugation, a process in which the genetic
material of one cell passes into and fuses with the
genetic material of a recipient cell.
• Example: Spirogyra is a haploid organism that
undergoes a conjugation. (Top) Filaments of two
strains line up, and conjugation tubes form
between cells of the two filaments.
• (Micrograph on bottom) The contents of one cell
pass into the other through the conjugation tube.
• The two cells then fuse and form a diploid zygote.
Following a period of dormancy, the zygote
undergoes meiosis, restoring the haploid
condition.
 • Both aquatic and terrestrial green algae
exist. Aquatic green algae primarily
inhabit fresh water, although marine
species also occur.
• Green algae that inhabit the land are
restricted to damp soil, cracks in tree
bark, and other moist places.
• Some green algae live as endosymbionts
in the bodies of animals such as
freshwater sponges, mollusks, and
flatworms.
• Because of their photosynthetic activity,
they are at the base of many food webs,
particularly in freshwater habitats.
• Green algae also help oxygenate the
water during daylight hours.
• Thus, aquatic animals depend on green
algae to provide them with both food and
oxygen.
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 The evolution of land plants from a green
algae ancestor
• Green algae have a significant number of characteristics in common
with plants, including pigments, storage products (energy reserves),
and cell-wall composition. Because of these and other similarities, it
is generally accepted that plants evolved from green alga like
ancestors.
• Current hypotheses: the early divergence of two discrete clades from
an ancestral green flagellate.
• One clade, the Chlorophyta, comprises the early diverging which gave
rise to the core chlorophytes. The other clade, the Streptophyta,
includes the charophyte green algae from which the land plants
evolved.
• The composition of the Streptophyta and similar groups
(Streptophytina, Charophyta) varies in each classification.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptophyta BOI101RR
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Leliaert et al., 2012. Phylogeny and Molecular Evolution of the Green Algae. DOI: 10.1080/07352689.2011.615705
Source: Vriest et al. 2018. Plant evolution: landmarks on the path to terrestrial life. New Phytologist. 217(4): 1428-1434

• Approximately
one billion years
ago, the green
lineage
(Chloroplastida)
split into the
chlorophytes
and
streptophytes.

Notes:
KCM: Klebsormidiophyceae, Chlorokybophyceae, and Mesostigmatophyceae;
ZCC: Zygnematophyceae, Coleochaetophyceae, and Charophyceae.
Plant evolution: Landmarks on the path to terrestrial life.
• Chlorophytes occur in a variety of marine, freshwater and terrestrial
environments.
• Streptophyte algae are found in freshwater and terrestrial habitats, e.g., in wet
soil or on rock surfaces, down in the sediment of lakes and streams
(Charophyceae) or on these as algal mats (Zygnematophyceae); some
Coleochaetophycae even grow as epiphytes on Charophyceae.
• Note also that various extant chloroplastidial algae grow on land plants (e.g., on
tree barks).
• While the ability to dwell in terrestrial habitats exists across the diversity of
Chloroplastida, only the land plants dominate the macrobiome of the earth’s
surface, unparalleled in their morphological and species richness. Inferring the
traits of the algal ancestor of land plants – a group of organisms closely related
to extant Zygnematophyceae – requires assessment of the biology of ZCC grade
streptophyte algae.
• The emerging consensus is that it was an organism with branching filaments (or
perhaps even pseudoparenchymatous growth) that interacted with beneficial
(substrate) microbiota, likely including the ancestors of mycorrhizal fungi.
• The algal embryophyte progenitor likely also possessed a physiology that
allowed it to cope with terrestrial stressors such as drought/desiccation, high
ultraviolet and photosynthetic irradiance, and rapid temperature changes.
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