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Structure and Reproduction in Pinnularia

Pinnularia is a unicellular, freshwater algae commonly found in ponds and moist soils. It has an elongated, elliptical cell enclosed within silica-impregnated cell walls composed of two overlapping valves. It reproduces primarily through vegetative cell division, where the cell contents divide and each daughter cell grows new cell walls. Sexual reproduction occurs through the formation of auxospores, either via the fusion of gametes following nuclear division or through parthenogenesis without nuclear division. Auxospores enlarge greatly in size before dividing, restoring the maximum size of vegetative cells and preventing indefinite size reduction through repeated cell division.

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3K views

Structure and Reproduction in Pinnularia

Pinnularia is a unicellular, freshwater algae commonly found in ponds and moist soils. It has an elongated, elliptical cell enclosed within silica-impregnated cell walls composed of two overlapping valves. It reproduces primarily through vegetative cell division, where the cell contents divide and each daughter cell grows new cell walls. Sexual reproduction occurs through the formation of auxospores, either via the fusion of gametes following nuclear division or through parthenogenesis without nuclear division. Auxospores enlarge greatly in size before dividing, restoring the maximum size of vegetative cells and preventing indefinite size reduction through repeated cell division.

Uploaded by

Preeti Verma
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Structure and Reproduction (life cycle) and

systematic position of Pinnularia


Pinnularia is very common in fresh water ponds, ditches, on the surface of mud in the
drying ponds and on the moist soils. The Taxonomic Positions, Structure, Reproduction
of Pinnularia are as follow.

Systematic Position

Division: Bacillariophyta

Class: Bacilaariophyceae

Order: Pennales

Family: Naviculoideae

Genus: Pinnularia

Occurrence- Pinnularia is a fresh water alga. It is found in pond. It is also present


on the moist soil.

Structure- It is unicellular. Its cell is elongated and elliptical. Cell wall is chiefly
composed of pectic substances. Silica is impregnated in it. Therefore, their wall
becomes very hard. ‘Their wall is composed of two halves called valves. These
halves overlap like Petridish. The margins of the two valves are covered by a
connecting band called eingulum. The two valves with their inner protoplasts are
called frustule. The frustule has two views. The surface view is called valve view
and band view is called girdle view. The outer larger valve is called epitheca. The
smaller inner valve is called hypotheca. The cell is covered by mucilaginous
layer. The surface of valve has minute pores or pits. It produces characteristic
markings on the surface of valves. These markings are bilaterally symmetrical. The
marking free area is called axial field. The markings are arranged in linear rows.
The axial field contains a longitudinal slit called raphe. The raphe is not
continuous throughout the length of the valve. The raphe is wedge shaped in
transverse section. It has circular thickening called central nodules in the centre.
Similar thickening also present at the outer ends of raphe. These are called polar
nodules. These nodules open to the external aqueous medium.

Cell Structure-

Cytoplasm is arranged in parietal layer. It. A large central vacuole is present inside
the cell. Single nucleus is suspended in the center of vacuole by transverse
cytoplasmic bridge. Two chloroplasts are present along the two sides of the cells.
These are most prominent structures. They contain chlorophyll a, c, beta-carotene
and diatomin or fucoxanthin pigment. Fucoxanthin gives the alga characteristic
color. One or two pyrenoids are present in the chloroplast. But they do not
synthesize starch. Their storage compound is oil or chrysolaminarin.
Locomotion- The plant exhibit characteristics gliding movements. which are brought about by
circulation of streaming cytoplasm within the raphe and by the secretion of the mucilage through
the raphe and its hydration.

Reproduction- The plant reproduces vegetatively by cell division and sexually by production
of auxospores.

Vegetative Reproduction – Cell Division

This is the most common method of reproduction that results in the formation of two daughter
cells of slightly different size. The first indication of division, is expansion of the protoplast that
causes a slight separation of overlapping epitheca and hypotheca. This is followed by mitotic
division of the nucleus in a plane perpendicular to the valves. The nuclear division is
accompanied with duplication of cell organelle especially those of chromatophores and
pyrenoids. Later, the protoplast divides in a plane parallel to the valves. One daughter protoplast
lies within the epitheca and the other within the hypotheca. Each daughter protoplast secretes a
new half next to its girdle and free face. At this stage the parent connecting bands separate and
each cell becomes an independent cell.

The two frustules of each parent cell act as epitheca of the two daughter cells. Therefore, newly
formed half wall is always hypotheca of daughter frustule. The utilization of two old half walls
as epithecae for the daughter cells results in one cell of the same size as the parent cell and the
other being slightly smaller than the original parent cell. This progressive diminution in size
result in a population with smaller cells, however this reduction in size does not continue
indefinitely. It is checked by formation of auxospores which give rise to vegetative cells of
maximum size for the species.
Reproduction and Cell Divsion in Pinnularia

Sexual Reproduction

The sexual reproduction is isogamous and is influenced by various factors like temperature, light
conditions and nutrition. The Pinnularia species are monoecious. The zygote grows into a
specialized spore, the auxospore which enlarge to the size of the parent cell and restores the
parental size of the vegetative cell.

Auxospore formation

There are two methods of auxospore formation:

I. Gamete formation: In some species of Pinnularia, two cells from common parent or different
parents envelope in a common mucilaginous sheath. The nuclei of both cells divide by meiosis to
form four nuclei. Three nuclei disintegrate. The fourth one enlarges. Its protoplast
metamorphosed into gamete. The gametes are liberated from the parent frustules. They fuse to
form zygote. The zygote enlarges to form auxospore. The auxospore secretes new valve and
become adult.

2. Parthenogenesis: The protoplast of cell secretes a large amount of mucilage. Therefore, two
valves are separated from each other. It separates the inner protoplast. The protoplast grows to its
maximum size. It secretes silica rich pectic membrane. This membrane is called prizonium. New
valves are secreted inside the prizonium. Nuclear division does not occur. Therefore, auxospores
are formed by parthenogenesis.

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