General characters of algae

Thalloid plant body

In Eichler’s system of classification, algae are placed in the Division Thallophyta along with

Fungi and Lichens.

   Algae are autotrophs (synthesize food using light energy)

Algae differ from fungi :

 . Presence of photosynthetic pigment – chlorophyll

 Mode of nutrition (autotrophs)
 Majority of algae are in aquatic habitat (fresh water or marine), some algae are terrestrial
also
 Algae are present in all parts of the world including Arctic and Antarctic regions
(universal occurrence)
 Sex organs are unicellular or multicellular

 Oogonium (female sex organ) of Oedogonium *

 Sex organs lack jacket cells around them (naked sex organs)
  If jacket cells are present, they have different origin
 There is a progressive complexity in the reproduction of different algal groups.
 Embryos is not formed after zygote formation.
 Show distinct alternation.

Morphological characteristics

 Algae exhibit a very wide range of morphological diversity.

 The simplest forms are unicellular, microscopic, motile or non-motile eukaryotic cells.
 They may be spherical (Protococcus, Chlorella), or pyriform (Chlamydomonas).
 When motile (Volvox, Chlamydomonas) the cells are generally provided with a pair of
eukaryotic flagella.
 Diatoms show a characteristic type of non-flagellar locomotion.
 Motile or non-motile algae may form a colony, known as a coenobium.
 There are also many multicellular algae.
 These may form uniseriate or multiseriate filaments which may be branched or un-
branched.
 The branched filaments may have prostrate and erect branches (heterotrichous habit).
 The multiseriate filaments may form a cylindrical thallus or sometimes a flat thalloid
structure.
 The siphonaceous algae have coenocytic body (multinucleate, without septa) which may
be simple or complex and elaborate
 The brown algae which are exclusively marine and always multicellular, often have large
complex thalli.
 Diatoms are unicellular algae, but they have a cell which is unique.
 It consists of two overlapping halves or valves, like those of a petridish.
 Some lower forms of algae have a doubtful systematic position. Many of them, like the
chrysomonads are amoeboid.
 Euglenoids, have a flexible cell-covering.
 They are without a rigid cell wall and resemble protozoa in many ways.
 The dinoflagellates are also peculiar in having a typically flattened cell with an equatorial
constriction, known as a girdle.
 However, all such atypical organisms are photosynthetic which justifies their inclusion in
algae.

Morphological features of some representative types of algae are shown in Fig. 5.31:
Cellular Characteristics of Alga

 The flagella are anchored to the basal bodies situated in the

 Have a double-membrane bound nucleus, mitochondria, vacuoles, chloroplastids, Golgi

bodies, endoplasmic reticulum and 80S ribosomes.

 The prokaryotic blue-green algae are now considered as bacteria (cyanobacteria), though
like other algae Algae—being eukaryotic organisms—have a cellular organization like
that of other photosynthetic eukaryotes

 Algal cells they carry out oxygenic photosynthesis.

 They have been treated elsewhere along with bacteria.

 Motile unicellular or coenobial algae, as well as motile asexual and sexual spores, all
have eukaryotic flagella with two central and nine pairs of fibrils surrounded by a
membrane.

 In some forms, the flagella are of two types — whiplash type having a stiff basal part
and a flexible upper part, and tinsel type with fine hairy outgrowths
 . The flagella, often in a pair may be attached at the anterior end of the cell, or laterally.

 In some, like yellow-green algae (e.g. Botrydium, Vancheria), the pair of flagella are of
unequal length in zoospores.

 The algal chloroplasts vary greatly in size, shape and number. They may contain one or
more pyrenoids, or none.

 The pyrenoids are colourless proteinaceous bodies which are involved in synthesis of
starch during photosynthesis.

 Some photosynthetic flagellates, like Euglena, as well as zoospores of some algae e.g.
Stigeoclonium have a red-coloured carotenoid-containing eye-spot which serves as a
photo-receptive organ guiding locomotion.
 Some photo autotrophic flagellates have also contractile vacuoles.
 Algal cell, in general, is bound by a cell-wall.
 The flagellates and the amoeboid forms lack a rigid cell wall.

 The composition of the cell wall is variable in different taxonomic groups. Generally, it is
made of complex polymeric carbohydrates.

 In the green algae, the cell wall is mainly composed of cellulose.

 In many marine green algae, mannans are also present along with cellulose. Galactans are
present in the cell wall of red algae.

 Pectic substances are often associated with the polymeric carbohydrates.

 The walls of many algae are often reinforced with a variety of other materials, such as
silica, calcium salts, alginic acid etc
 The flagellates lack a cell wall and their cells are covered by a flexible modified
membrane, which is generally known as a pellicle.
 All types of algae contain photosynthetic pigments.

 These include different chlorophylls, carotenoids and phycobiliproteins.

 The pigments are located in chloroplasts.

 The proportion of different pigments imparts the characteristic colour of different groups
of algae.

 Chlorophyll a is present in all groups of algae.

 Chlorophyll b is present in mainly in the green algae and in traces in the englenoid
flagellates.

 Chlorophyll is present in small amounts in the brown algae, yellow-green algae, golden-
brown algae and the diatoms.

 Chlorophyll d is present specifically in the red algae.

 Chlorophyll e is found in some yellow-green algae.

 Among the carotenoids, β-carotene is present universally in all algal groups, a-carotene is
present in some green algae, brown algae, red algae and in diatoms, y-carotenes have
been detected in some green algae and englenoids.

 Xanthophyll’s which are oxygenated carotenes also occur extensively in algae.

 Lutein is found in green algae and in small amount in red algae.

 Fucoxanthin is the main xanthophyll’s of brown algae and gives the characteristic colour
of these algae.

 It is also present in the golden-brown algae and diatoms.

 Zeaxanthin is present in red algae. Several other xanthophyll’s, like alloxanthin,

dinoxanthin, heteroxanthin etc. occur in specific groups.
  The phycobiiiproteins, characteristically present in cyanobacteria, also occur in red algae
and brown crypto-monads.

 Phycobiiiproteins are of two types — phycocyanin which is a blue pigment, and

phycoerythrin, a red pigment.

 Both types are found in algae, as also in cyanobacteria.

 A non-plastidial pigment found in some algae is haematochrome.
 This pigment is present in some green algae, like Trentepohlia giving a red colour to
these terrestrial algae.
 Sphaerella, a unicellular alga related to Chlamydomonas growing in the Arctic and
Alpine regions, is rich in this pigment.
 The alga grows so densely that the snow appears red and it causes the phenomenon called
‘red snow’.
 The chloroplasts of algae, specially those of green algae, are of various forms depending
on the genus
 Generally, in green algae there is 3 single chloroplast. In other groups, there are
numerous small chloroplasts.

Some characteristic forms of chloroplasts in green algae :

 Another cellular feature that varies in different algal groups is the nature of the storage
carbohydrates.

 In green algae, as well as in crypto-monads and dinoflagellates, the storage product is

starch.
 A starch-like polysaccharide, called floridean starch is the reserve substance in red algae.

 In the brown algae, a dextrin-like carbohydrate, known as laminarin is the reserve

material and a related polymer, chrysolaminarin occurs in the yellow-green and golen-
brown algae, as also in diatom.

 The englenoids store paramylum.

 Besides the polysaccharides, most algae have oil-drops in the cells. Brown algae have
also soluble mannitol.
  Cellular organization may be prokaryotic (blue green algae) or eukaryotic (all other

Occurrence of algae

 Found in a variety of habitats (Fresh water, marine, on rocks, with in plants or animals)

 Aquatic forms are most common

  On the basis of habitat, algae are classified into three groups

 Aquatic forms
 Terrestrial forms
 Algae of unusual habitats

 Aquatic algae:

Two types: Fresh water and marine forms

 Fresh water forms: Occurs in ponds, lakes, river etc.(Spirogyra)

Marine water forms: Occurs in saline condition such as seas and oceans (Most of the
Red and Brown algae such as Polysiphonia and Sargassum)
 Terrestrial Algae: Found in/on soil, rocks, moist wall, tree trunks etc.

Example: Vaucheri a and Fritschiella found on the

surface of soil

Red Rust on Leaves by Cephaleuros

 Algae of unusual habitat

 Halophytic  algae: algae present in highly saline

water (Example:Dunaliella)

 Epiphytic algae: algae grown on the surface of other plants/algae

(Example Oedogonium)
  Epizoic algae: algae grown on animals such as snails and fishes
(Example: Cladophora grows on the shells of snails)

 Endozoic algae:  algae growing inside the animals (Example:Zoochlorella grow

inside Hydra)

Dunaliella (single celled algae)

 Symbiotic algae: Symbiotic (mutual) association with fungi in lichen, in

Bryophytes (Anthoceros), in Pteridophytes (Azolla),gymnosperms (corolloid roots
of Cycas) and in angiosperms.

 Parasitic algae: grow as parasite on plants or animals (Example:Cephaleuros is a

parasitic green algae grow on the leaves of many plants causing red rust diseases).

 Thermophytic algae: grow in hot springs. (Example: Heterohormogonium)

 Fluviatile algae: algae found in rapidly running water such as water falls (Example:
Ulothrix occurs in mountains water falls

Thallus diversity in algae:

 Wide range or thallus variation in algae

 Thallus may be unicellular to multicellular and microscopic to macroscopic
 Plant size range from few micron to several meters
 Largest Algae (Macrocystis pyrifera)

Example: Chlamydomonas is a single celled algae whereas Macrocystis pyrifera, a marine

brown algae, is multicellular, parenchymatous and several meters long.

Types of algae on the basis of thallus

 On the basis of thallus organization algae are following five types:-

 Unicellular forms (Example: Chlamydomonas, Chlorella)

 Colonial forms (Volvox, Pandorina)
 Filamentous forms
 Un-branched filamentous (Spirogyra, Oedogonium)
 Branched filamentous (Cladophora, Pithophora)
 Siphonaceous forms (Vaucheria). Parenchymatous forms (Sargassum, Laminaria)

Pigmentation in algae
 Algae also shows great diversity in pigmentation
.
 Different groups of algae have different pigment composition

 Distribution pattern of pigments has great taxonomic significance in algae

 The classification of algae by Fritsch is primarily based of the pigmentation in algae

 Pigments in algae belongs to three major categories:

 Chlorophylls
 Carotenoids
 Phycobilins
 All major algal groups have at least one characteristic pigment
 Cyanophyceae (blue green algae): Phycocyanin
 Chlorophyceae (green algae): Chlorophyll b
 Pheophyceae (brown algae): Fucoxanthin
 Rhodophyceae (red algae): Phycoerythrin

 Chlorophyll a is universally present in all algal groups.

 Plastids in algae:
 Except in Cyanophyceae (blue green algae, BGA) pigments in algae are found in
membrane bound organelles called plastids
 Chromoplasm :In BGA, plastids are absent, pigments located at peripheral cytoplasm
called chromoplasm

 Plastids are two types:

 Leucoplast: – Colourless plastids
 Chromoplast: – Coloured plastids

 Plastid forms in algae:

 Algae shows great diversity in plastid shape, Plastids may be:

 Spiral Shaped Chloroplast (Spirogyra) *

 Cup shaped: Clamydomonas, Volvox
 Discoid: Voucheria, Chara
 Girdle shaped: Ulothrix
 Reticulate: Oedogonium, Hydrodictyon, Cladophora
 Spiral: Spirogyra
 Stellate (star shaped): Zygnema
Agar:
Agar, a gelatinous substance derived from red algae, has a number of commercial uses It is a
good medium on which to grow bacteria and fungi, as most microorganisms cannot digest agar.
Alginates:
Alginic acid, or alginate, is extracted from brown algae. Its uses range from gelling agents in
food, to medical dressings. Alginic acid also has been used in the field of biotechnology as
a biocompatible medium for cell encapsulation and cell immobilization. Molecular cuisine is
also a user of the substance for its gelling properties, by which it becomes a delivery vehicle for
flavours. Between 100,000 and 170,000 wet tons of Macrocystis are harvested annually in New
Mexico for alginate extraction and abalone feed.
Energy source
Main articles: Algae fuel, Biological hydrogen production, Bio hydrogen, Biodiesel, Ethanol
fuel, Butanol fuel, and Vegetable oil

To be competitive and independent from fluctuating support from (local) policy on the long run,
biofuels should equal or beat the cost level of fossil fuels. Here, algae-based fuels hold great
promise, directly related to the potential to produce more biomass per unit area in a year than any
other form of biomass. The break-even point for algae-based biofuels is estimated to occur by
2025.
Fertilizer:
For more details on this topic, see Seaweed fertilizer.

Seaweed-fertilized gardens on Inisheer

For centuries, seaweed has been used as a fertilizer; George Owen of Henllys writing in the 16th
century referring to drift weed in South Wales
This kind of ore they often gather and lay on great heapes, where it heteth and rotteth, and will
have a strong and loathsome smell; when being so rotten they cast on the land, as they do their
muck, and thereof springeth good corn, especially barley ... After spring-tydes or great rigs of the
sea, they fetch it in sacks on horse backes, and carie the same three, four, or five miles, and cast
it on the lande, which doth very much better the ground for corn and grass.
Today, algae are used by humans in many ways; for example, as fertilizers, soil conditioners, and
livestock feed.Aquatic and microscopic species are cultured in clear tanks or ponds and are either
harvested or used to treat effluents pumped through the ponds. Algaculture on a large scale is an
important type of aquaculture in some places. Maerl is commonly used as a soil conditioner.
Nutrition:
See also: Edible seaweed

Dulse, a type of food

 Naturally growing seaweeds are an important source of food, especially in Asia. They
provide many vitamins including: A, B1, B2, B6, niacin, and C, and are rich
in iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium, and calcium. In addition, commercially cultivated
microalgae, including both algae and cyanobacteria, are marketed as nutritional
supplements, such as spirulina, Chlorella and the vitamin-C supplement from Dunaliella,
high in beta-carotene.

 Algae are national foods of many nations: China consumes more than 70 species,
including fat choy, a cyanobacterium considered a vegetable; Japan, over 20
 species; Ireland, dulse; Chile, cochayuyo. Laver is used to make "laver bread" in Wales,
where it is known as bara lawr; in Korea, gim; in Japan, nori and aonori. It is also used
along the west coast of North America from California to British Columbia, in Hawaii
and by the Māori of New Zealand. Sea lettuce and badderlocks are salad ingredients
in Scotland, Ireland, Greenland, and Iceland.

 The oils from some algae have high levels of unsaturated fatty acids. For
example, Parietochloris incisa is very high in arachidonic acid, where it reaches up to
47% of the triglyceride pool. Some varieties of algae favored by vegetarianism
and veganism contain the long-chain, essential omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

 Fish oil contains the omega-3 fatty acids, but the original source is algae (microalgae in
particular), which are eaten by marine life such as copepods and are passed up the food
chain.[84] Algae have emerged in recent years as a popular source of omega-3 fatty acids
for vegetarians who cannot get long-chain EPA and DHA from other vegetarian sources
such as flaxseed oil, which only contains the short-chain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
Pollution control:

 Sewage can be treated with algae, reducing the use of large amounts of toxic chemicals
that would otherwise be needed.
 Algae can be used to capture fertilizers in runoff from farms. When subsequently
harvested, the enriched algae can be used as fertilizer.
 Aquaria and ponds can be filtered using algae, which absorb nutrients from the water in a
device called an algae scrubber, also known as an algae turf scrubber.[
Agricultural Research Service scientists found that 60–90% of nitrogen runoff and 70–100% of
phosphorus runoff can be captured from manure effluents using a horizontal algae scrubber, also
called an algal turf scrubber (ATS). Scientists developed the ATS, which consists of shallow,
100-foot raceways of nylon netting where algae colonies can form, and studied its efficacy for
three years. They found that algae can readily be used to reduce the nutrient runoff from
agricultural fields and increase the quality of water flowing into rivers, streams, and oceans.
Researchers collected and dried the nutrient-rich algae from the ATS and studied its potential as
an organic fertilizer. They found that cucumber and corn seedlings grew just as well using ATS
organic fertilizer as they did with commercial fertilizers. [89] Algae scrubbers, using bubbling up
flow or vertical waterfall versions, are now also being used to filter aquaria and ponds.
Bioremediation:
The alga Stichococcus bacillaris has been seen to colonize silicone resins used at archaeological
sites; biodegrading the synthetic substance.
Pigments:
The natural pigments (carotenoids and chlorophylls) produced by algae can be used as
alternatives to chemical dyes and coloring agents. The presence of some individual algal
pigments, together with specific pigment concentration ratios, are taxon-specific: analysis of
their concentrations with various analytical methods, particularly high-performance liquid
chromatography, can therefore offer deep insight into the taxonomic composition and relative
abundance of natural alga populations in sea water samples.
Stabilizing substances

Main articles: Carrageenan and Chondrus crispus

Carrageenan, from the red alga Chondrus crispus, is used as a stabilizer in milk products.
.
Algae as Fuel

Algal cells naturally produce different byproducts as part of their natural metabolism.
Researchers have collected and isolated thousands of different species and tested them for their
production of energy metabolites. Scientists have also studied the best way to grow algae - the
optimum light, water and nutrient to get the most production from the algal cells. Through such
work, researchers have found many species that can produce fuels.

The idea of using algae as fuel isn't a new one. Studies were conducted as early as the 1950s,
looking at the production of methane from algae. In the 1970s, the energy crisis spurred more
research in not only methane production, but also hydrogen from algae. In the 1980s, research
efforts shifted to oil production from algae. Today, oil produced from algae, called biofuel, has
been dominating the research and development front. Scientists are interested in algal biofuels
because they are renewable, can be created relatively easily within bioreactors and can substitute
fossil fuels.
 Algae can be grown in large bioreactors.

Algae as Food

Have you ever had sushi? If so, you've eaten algae by eating the seaweed wrapping. Algae have
been used as a food source for thousands of years by a variety of cultures, but researchers and
investors are taking another look at this green food source for a much bigger piece of the world's
food market. As our world's population increases and land suitable for farming becomes more
scarce with development, algal cultivation for food becomes more and more appealing. Algal
cultivation can occur year-round and yield a high-protein product that can be used in a myriad of
foods - not only for humans, but also as an animal food source.

People have been using algae as a food source

for thousands of years.
This food source is both renewable and sustainable, which means it can be produced at a
maintainable level. Raising livestock for food takes up valuable limited resources in the form of
land and energy. Algae, on the other hand, can be grown in a variety of places in vertical tanks
without utilizing large tracts of land.

Algal bloom:
Taken in October 2011, the worst algae bloom that Lake Erie has experienced in decades.
Record torrential spring rains washed fertilizer into the lake, promoting the growth
of microcystin producing cyanobacteria blooms.[1]

An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or

marine water systems, and are recognized by the discoloration in the water from their pigments.
[2]
 Cyanobacteria blooms are often called blue-green algae. Blooms which can injure animals or
the ecology are called "harmful algal blooms" (HAB), and can lead to fish die-offs, cities cutting
off water to residents, or states having to close fisheries

Blooming

Algal blooms can present problems for ecosystems and human society.

Since 'algae' is a broad term including organisms of widely varying sizes, growth rates and
nutrient requirements, there is no officially recognized threshold level as to what is defined as a
bloom. For some species, algae can be considered to be blooming at concentrations reaching
millions of cells per milliliter, while others form blooms of tens of thousands of cells per liter.
The photosynthetic pigments in the algal cells determine the color of the algal bloom, and are
thus often a greenish color, but they can also be a wide variety of other colors such as yellow,
brown or red, depending on the species of algae and the type of pigments contained therein.

Bright green blooms in freshwater systems are frequently a result of cyanobacteria (colloquially

known as blue-green algae) such as Microcystis. Blooms may also consist of macroalgal (non-
phytoplanktonic) species. These blooms are recognizable by large blades of algae that may wash
up onto the shoreline.
Of particular note are harmful algal blooms (HABs), which are algal bloom events involving
toxic or otherwise harmful phytoplankton such as dinoflagellates of
the genus Alexandrium and Karenia, or diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia. Such blooms
often take on a red or brown hue and are known colloquially as red tides.

Freshwater algal blooms

Nutrient pollution and Eutrophication

 Freshwater algal blooms are the result of an excess of nutrients, particularly

some phosphates. The excess of nutrients may originate from fertilizers that are
applied to land for agricultural or recreational purposes.

 They may also originate from household cleaning products containing phosphorus.

These nutrients can then enter watersheds through water runoff.

 Excess carbon and nitrogen have also been suspected as causes. Presence of residual

sodium carbonate acts as catalyst for the algae to bloom by providing dissolved carbon
dioxide for enhanced photosynthesis in the presence of nutrients.

 When phosphates are introduced into water systems, higher concentrations cause
increased growth of algae and plants. Algae tend to grow very quickly under high
nutrient availability, but each alga is short-lived, and the result is a high concentration of
dead organic matter which starts to decay. The decay process consumes dissolved oxygen
in the water, resulting in hypoxic conditions. Without sufficient dissolved oxygen in the
water, animals and plants may die off in large numbers. Use of an Olszewski tube can
help combat these problems with hypolimnetic withdrawal.

 Blooms may be observed in freshwater aquariums when fish are overfed and excess
nutrients are not absorbed by plants. These are generally harmful for fish, and the
situation can be corrected by changing the water in the tank and then reducing the amount
of food given.

Harmful algal blooms[edit]

Main article: Harmful algal blooms

 An algae bloom off the southern coast of Devon and Cornwall in England, in 1999

 Satellite image of phytoplankton swirling around the Swedish island of Gotland in

the Baltic Sea, in 2005

 A harmful algal bloom (HAB) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other
organisms via production of natural toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by
other means. HABs are often associated with large-scale marine mortality events and
have been associated with various types of shellfish poisonings.[7]

 In studies at the population level bloom coverage has been significantly related to the risk
of non-alcoholic liver disease death.[

 Algae are emerging to be one of the most promising long-term, sustainable sources of
biomass and oils for fuel, food, feed, and other co-products. What makes them so
attractive are the large number and wide variety of benefits associated with how and
where they grow.
  Nearly all these benefits stem from the fact that these plants have evolved over billions of
years to produce and store energy in the form of oil, and they do this more efficiently
than any other known natural or engineered process

Why algae are a promising new source of fuel and products

1) Algae Grow Fast

Algae can double their numbers every few hours, can be harvested daily, and have the potential
to produce a volume of biomass and biofuel many times greater than that of our most productive
crops.

2) Algae Can Have High Biofuel Yields

Algae store energy in the form of oils and carbohydrates, which, combined with their high
productivity, means they can produce from 2,000 to as many as 5,000 gallons of biofuels per
acre per year.

3) Algae Consume CO2 

Like any other plant, algae, when grown using sunlight, consume (or absorb) carbon dioxide
(CO2) as they grow, releasing oxygen (O2) for the rest of us to breathe. For high productivity,
algae require more CO2, which can be supplied by emissions sources such as power plants,
ethanol facilities, and other sources.

4) Algae Do Not Compete With Agriculture

Algae cultivation uses both land that in many cases is unsuitable for traditional agriculture, as
well as water sources that are not useable for other crops, such as sea-, brackish- and wastewater.
As such, algae-based fuels complement biofuels made from traditional agricultural processes.

5) Microalgal Biomass Can Be Used for Fuel, Feed and Food

Microalgae can be cultivated to have a high protein and oil content, for example, which can be
used to produce either biofuels or animal feeds, or both. In addition micronutrientsis already used
for dietary supplements to advance human he, alth.

6) Macroalgae Can Be Grown in the Sea 

Macroalgae (seaweeds) are grown in the sea, or even on land with seawater, and their sugars can
be converted into biofuels and chemicals.

7) Algae Can Purify Wastewaters

Algae thrive in nutrient-rich waters like municipal waste waters (sewage), animal wastes and
some industrial effluents, at the same time purifying these wastes while producing a biomass
suitable for biofuels production.
8) Algal Biomass Can Be Used as an Energy Source
After oil extraction, the remaining algal biomass can be dried and “pelletized” and used as fuel
that is burned in industrial boilers and other power generation sources.

9) Algae Can Be Used to Produce Many Useful Products

Algae can be cultivated to produce a variety of products for large to small markets: plastics,
chemical feedstocks, lubricants, fertilizers, and even cosmetics.