All Topics  
Spirogyra

 
Spirogyra

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Spirogyra
 
 
  Topics Spirogyra Topic Home

Spirogyra is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of filamentous green algae
Green algae

The green algae are the large group of algae from which the embryophytes emerged. As such, they form a paraphyletic group, although the group including both green algae and embryophytes is monophyletic ....
 of the order
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
 Zygnematales
Zygnematales

The Zygnematales , also called the Conjugales, are an order of green algae, comprising several thousand different species in genus such as the well-known Zygnema and Spirogyra....
, named for the helical
Helix

A helix is a special kind of space curve, i.e. a Differentiable manifold curve in three-space. As a mental image of a helix one may take the spring ....
 or spiral arrangement of the chloroplast
Chloroplast

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryote organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve Thermodynamic free energy in the form of Adenosine triphosphate and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis....
s that is diagnostic of the genus. It is commonly found in freshwater
Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
 areas, and there are more than 400 species of Spirogyra in the world. Spirogyra measures approximately 10 to 100µm in width and may stretch centimeters long.

General Characteristics
Spirogyra is unbranched with cylindrical cells connected end to end in long green filaments.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Spirogyra'
Start a new discussion about 'Spirogyra'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Spirogyra is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of filamentous green algae
Green algae

The green algae are the large group of algae from which the embryophytes emerged. As such, they form a paraphyletic group, although the group including both green algae and embryophytes is monophyletic ....
 of the order
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
 Zygnematales
Zygnematales

The Zygnematales , also called the Conjugales, are an order of green algae, comprising several thousand different species in genus such as the well-known Zygnema and Spirogyra....
, named for the helical
Helix

A helix is a special kind of space curve, i.e. a Differentiable manifold curve in three-space. As a mental image of a helix one may take the spring ....
 or spiral arrangement of the chloroplast
Chloroplast

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryote organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve Thermodynamic free energy in the form of Adenosine triphosphate and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis....
s that is diagnostic of the genus. It is commonly found in freshwater
Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
 areas, and there are more than 400 species of Spirogyra in the world. Spirogyra measures approximately 10 to 100µm in width and may stretch centimeters long.

General Characteristics


Spirogyra is unbranched with cylindrical cells connected end to end in long green filaments. The cell wall has two layers: the outer wall is composed of cellulose
Cellulose

File:Cellulose Sessel.svgCellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand ? linked D-glucose units....
 while the inner wall is of pectin
Pectin

Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot....
. The cytoplasm forms a thin lining between the cell wall and the large vacuole
Vacuole

A vacuole is a membrane organelle which is present in all eukaryotic cells. Vacuoles are essentially enclosed compartments which are filled with fluid such as water or various enzymes, though in certain cases they may contain solids which have been engulfed....
 it surrounds. Chloroplasts are embedded in the peripheral cytoplasm; their numbers are variable (as few as one). The chloroplasts are ribbon shaped, serrated or scalloped, and spirally arranged, resulting in the prominent and characteristic green spiral on each filament. Each chloroplast contains several pyrenoid
Pyrenoid

In cell biology, pyrenoids are centers of Carbon fixation within the chloroplasts of algae and hornworts. Pyrenoids are not biological membrane-bound organelles, but specialized areas of the plastid that contain high levels of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase ....
s, centers for the production of starches, appearing as small round bodies.

Spirogyra is very common in relatively clean eutrophic water, developing slimy filamentous green masses. In spring Spirogyra grows under water, but when there is enough sunlight and warmth they produce large amounts of oxygen, adhering as bubbles between the tangled filaments. The filamentous masses come to the surface and become visible as slimy green mats. Mougeotia
Mougeotia

Mougeotia is a genus of thalloid alga comprising approximately 37 species....
 and Zygnema
Zygnema

Zygnema is a genus of thalloid alga comprising approximately 35 species....
 are often found tangled together with Spirogyra.

Reproduction


Spirogyra Cell
Spirogyra can reproduce both asexually and sexually. In asexual reproduction, fragmentation takes place, and Spirogyra simply undergoes intercalary mitosis to form new filaments.

Sexual Reproduction is of two types:

  1. Scalariform conjugation requires association of two different filaments lined side by side either partially or throughout their length. One cell each from opposite lined filaments emits tubular protuberances known as conjugation tubes, which elongate and fuse, to make a passage called the conjugation canal. The cytoplasm of the cell acting as the male travels through this tube and fuses with the female cytoplasm, and the gametes fuse to form a zygospore.
  2. In lateral conjugation, gametes are formed in a single filament. Two adjoining cells near the common transverse wall give out protuberances known as conjugation tubes, which further form the conjugation canal upon contact. The male cytoplasm migrates through the conjugation canal, fusing with the female. The rest of the process proceeds as in scalariform conjugation.


The essential difference is that scalariform conjugation occurs between two filaments and lateral conjugation occurs between two adjacent cells on the same filament.

Spirogyra uses photosynthesis for the production of food.