CLASSIFICATIO

NS
OF
ALGAE
 Biologists classify algae into six
divisions, based on color, food storage
substances, and the composition of cell
walls. Members of each division have
distinctive colors, depending on the
photosynthetic pigments of their cells.
These pigments absorb light. All algae
contain the pigment chlorophyll a. However,
different divisions of algae also contain
other forms of chlorophyll, such as b, c, or d,
each of which absorbs a different
wavelength of light. Member of different
algal divisions have different accessory
pigments as well. Algae also vary in
methods of reproduction.
CHLOROPHYTA
 Members of the
division
Chlorophyta, the
green algae, are
a diverse group
of organisms of
over 7,000
species. They
can be
unicellular,
colonial,
filamentous, or
 Most green algae are aquatic
although many inhibit moist terrestrial
environments such as soil, rock
surfaces, and tree trunks.


 Three observations have led

biologists to conclude that green algae
are ancestors of plants. First, both
green algae and plants have
chloroplasts the contain chlorophylls a
and b. Second, both green algae and
plants store food as starch. Finally,
both green algae and plants have cell
wall made of cellulose.
 To understand some of the diversity
in unicellular green algae:
Chlam ydom onas
Is common in soils
and in fresh ponds and
streams. It has a single
cup – shaped
chloroplasts. Each
chloroplast contains a
pyrenoid, where starch
is made. Two anterior
enable the organism to
swim. An eyespot, which
is an area sensitive to
light, enables alga to
move either toward or
away from the light.
  Desmids
 are unusual
unicellular algae the
live primarily in fresh
water. In fact, the
presence of desmids
often indicates degree
of water pollution.

 Un like u n ice llu la r a lg a e , colon ia l a lg a e h a ve som e
ch a r a ct e r ist ics of m u lt ice llu la r or g a n ism s:

 Oedogonium
 is another
common freshwater
filamentous green
alga. Members of
this genus have
netlike chloroplasts.
 Spirogyra


 is a
filamentous
green alga with
unusual spiral
chloroplasts that
stretch from one
end of the cell to
the other.

  Gonium
 is a small, motile, colonial
green alga consisting of
biflagellate cells in a flat
plate. The cells use their pair
of flagella to swim with a
rotating motion. Different
species may have 4, 8, 16, or
32 cells that are ovoid or
angular in shape. Each cell
has an eyespot, two
contractile vacuoles at the
base of the flagella, and a
large cup-shaped chloroplast
with at least one pyrenoid.
Each cell is enclosed within a
mucilage sheath, which join
together to form the colony.
Unlike the larger volvocalean
colonies such as Volvox or
Eudorina, the cells of Gonium
colonies are identical and
show no evidence of
specialization.  
 Ulva


 has a leaf like ,

photosynthetic
body and
commonly grows
on rocks and
pilings. Its thallus
collapses during
low tide to prevent
water loss in the
intertidal zone, the
are between high
and low tides.
PHAEOPHYTA
 Members of the
division
Phaeophyta,
the brown
algae, are
multicellular
and usually
large. Most of
the
approximately
1,500 species
 Phaeophytes, like most
photosynthetic protists, have
traditionally been classified as plants.
However, phaeophytes are not closely
related to land plants; their cells
contain different pigments, such as
chlorophyll c and fucoxanthin. They
also lack the plasmodesmata and
starch production of land plants and
their relatives.
 Like plants and many protists,
brown algae undergo a complex life
cycle involving
alternation of generations. In this
picture, you can see a diploid kelp
with flat photosynthetic structures,
the blades, branching from the stipe,
or stalk. The "puffy" regions attached
to the blades are receptacles,
 RHODOPHYTA
 Members of the
division
Rhodophyta
are called red
algae. Most
approximately
4,000 species
are marine and
multicellular.

The Rhodophyta (red algae) are a
distinct eukaryotic lineage characterized by
the accessory photosynthetic pigments
phycoerythrin, phycocyanin and
allophycocyanins arranged in
phycobilisomes, and the absence of flagella
and centrioles. This is a large assemblage of
between 2500 and 6000 species in about
670 largely marine genera that predominate
along the coastal and continental shelf
areas of tropical, temperate and cold-water
regions. Red algae are ecologically
significant as primary producers, providers
of structural habitat for other marine
organisms, and their important role in the
primary establishment and maintenance of
coral reefs. Some red algae are economically
important as providers of food and gels. For
this reason, extensive farming and natural
harvest of red algae occurs in numerous
areas of the world.
CHRYSOPHYTA
 Members of the
division
Chrysophyta
are called
golden – brown
algae. There
are over
10,000 species
of golden –
brown algae,
the majority of
which are
commonly
 Chrysophytes, or golden algae,
are common microscopic chromists in
fresh water. Some species are
colorless, but the vast majority are
photosynthetic. As such, they are
particularly important in lakes, where
they may be the primary source of
food for zooplankton. They are not
considered truly autotrophic by some
biologists because nearly all
chrysophytes become facultatively
heterotrophic in the absence of
adequate light, or in the presence of
plentiful dissolved food. When this
occurs, the chrysoplast atrophies and
the alga may turn predator, feeding
on bacteria or diatoms.
 There are more than a thousand
described species of golden algae, most of
them free-swimming and unicellular, but there
are filamentous and colonial forms. Other
chrysophytes may spend part of their life as
amoeboid cells. At the left and center of the
above illustration is Dinobryon, a freshwater
genus in which the individual cells are
surrounded by vase-shaped loricae, composed
of chitin fibrils and other polysaccharides. The
colonies grow as branched or unbranched
chains. A spherical colonial form, Synura, is on
the right; the surfaces of these cells are
covered by silica scales. Species which
produce siliceous coverings may have bristles
or scales with quite complex structure. Some
researchers group the chrysophytes with silica
scales in a separate taxon, the Synurophyceae.
 PYRROPHYTA
 Approximately
1,100 species of
the division
pyrrophyta are
called fire algae,
or dinoflagellates.
Most
dinoflagellates
are marine and
photosynthetic
and they are an
important
component of
oceanic

Some Pyrrophyta are photosynthetic
species, however, whereas others are not.
They come in a variety of shapes and sizes
and the photosynthetic species have
golden-brown or yellowish-green
chloroplasts. They can synthesize both
types of chlorophyll, type a and type c, and
contain high levels of carotenoids (yellow
pigments). Some Pyrrophyta, such as
Gymnodium and Gonyaulax are
dinoflagellates responsible for red tides and
secrete neurotoxins that cause massive fish
death. If these toxins are airborne in a
closed room, or if they get in contact with
the skin, they may contaminate humans and
cause temporary or more severe
neurological disorders. Some species such
as the Ceratium can deplete water from
oxygen, also leading to massive fish death,
a phenomenon known as black tide.
EUGLENOPHYTA
 Approximately
1,000 species of
the division
Euglenophyta are
unicellular algae
that have many
features in
common with
green algae.
However, they
also have many
characteristics
 Euglenophyta , small phylum (division)
of the kingdom Protista , consisting of mostly
unicellular aquatic algae . Most live in
freshwater; many have flagella and are
motile. The outer part of the cell consists of a
firm but flexible layer called a pellicle, or
periplast, which cannot properly be
considered a cell wall. Some euglenoids
contain chloroplasts that contain the
photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll a and b,
as in the phylum Chlorophyta ; others are
heterotrophic and can ingest or absorb their
food. Food is stored as a polysaccharide,
paramylon. Reproduction occurs by
longitudinal cell division. The most
characteristic genus is Euglena, common in
ponds and pools, especially when the water
has been polluted by runoff from fields or
lawns on which fertilizers have been used.
 Euglena, the
most familiar type
of euglenoid, is
propelled by a
long flagellum. An
eyspot guides the
alga toward light.
BACILLARIOPHYT
A
 The
Bacillariophyta
are the diatoms.
With their
exquisitely
beautiful silica
shells, or
frustules such as
that of Odontella
shown above at
right, diatoms
are among the
 They are also among the most important
aquatic microorganisms today: they
are extremely abundant both in the
plankton and in sediments in marine
and freshwater ecosystems, and
because they are photosynthetic they
are an important food source for
marine organisms. Some may even be
found in soils or on moist mosses.
 Diatoms have an extensive fossil record
going back to the Cretaceous; some
rocks are formed almost entirely of
fossil diatoms, and are known as
diatomite or diatomaceous earth.
These deposits are mined
commercially as abrasives and
filtering aids. Analysis of fossil diatom
assemblages may also provide
important information on past
environmental conditions.