In this article, we will discuss about What Is Blue Green Algae: Types, Characteristics, and Structures.
What Is Blue Green Algae?
Cyanobacteria or blue-green algae is a phylum (or “division”) of bacteria that gets energy through photosynthesis. The cyanobacteria fossil trail has been discovered since 3.8 billion last year. Cyanobacteria is now one of the largest and most important bacteria on Earth.
Cyanobacteria are found in almost every habitat imaginable, from the ocean to freshwater to rock to the ground. They can be single-cell or colony-based. Colonies can form a filament or slabs.
Cyanobacteria include unicellular, Colony, and filament forms. Multiple filament colonies have the ability to differentiate into three different types of cells: vegetative cells are normal, photosynthetic cells in good environmental conditions, and thick-walled heterocists types containing nitrogenase enzymes.
Types of Blue Green Algae
After knowing What Is Blue Green Algae, here are the types of Bleu green algae
Single-Cell blue green algae
Examples of single-cell blue green algae are Chroococcus and Gloeocapsa.
Chroococcus
These algae usually live on the grounds of a calm pond, a damp wall or rocks. Usually young cells remain unified because of the sheath that bind them. Breeding takes place vegetatively, splitting themselves. After cleavage, the cells stick together to form the sheath.
Gloeocapsa
These algae live on rocks and are sometimes encountered endophytes (in the body of a living creature), or epiphytes in other plants. The colony has a thread that can break down into hormogonium. Hormogonium can grow into a new colony. The algae has spores.
Spirulina
Spirulina: high protein content.
Blue green algae Colony (in groups)
Examples of colony-blue algae is Polycitis and Spirullina Polycitis: spherical-like shapes, living in a calm and clear pond. The breeding by fragmentation of the colony.
Blue green algae yarn (filament)
Examples of blue green algae in the form of yarn are Oscillatoria, Nostoc commune, Anabaena and Rivularia.
Oscillatoria
This algae is a thick yarn consisting of flat cells, self-splitting breeding and fragmentation or a separate piece of yarn arising into a new thread called Hormogonium.
Nostoc commune
The algae in the form of trichomes is composed of spherical cells, has a sheath and has ineffective cells called the akinetes and after completion of the dormancy period can grow into a new trichomes. Many are found in alkaline soils and moist rocks, e.g. In rice fields.
Anabaena
Algae in the form of trichomes is covered with mucous membranes, when they are older have heterocysts and akinetes. Life as a plankton in the waters, there is also a symbiotic in plants such as the roots of pilgrimage ferns and water spikes or Azolla pinata.
Rivularia
A ball-shape algae with mucous membranes and the tip, there is tapered trichomes. Life stuck to water plants and moist rocks.
The characteristics of the Blue Green Algae
After knowing What Is Blue Green Algae and the types, here are The characteristics of the Blue Green Algae
Prokaryotic
Prokaryotic (the cell nucleus is not covered with a membrane)
Shape
This form of algae can be unicellular (single-cell), colony (combined cells) or filament (yarn), Example:
- Unicellular form (one cell): Chroococcus, GLOEOCAPSA, Anacystis
- Colony form: Polycystis, Merismopedia, Nostoc, Microcystis
- Filamentous forms: Oscilatoria, Microcoleus, Anabaena, Rivularia.
It has chlorophyll pigment
It has chlorophyll pigment (green-colored), carotenoid (orange) as well as a phycobilins pigment consisting of phycocyanin (in blue) and Phycoerythrin (red colored). The combination of these pigments makes the color bluish green.
It is autotroph
It is autotroph (can make its own food from inorganic substances) because it has chlorophyll.
The cell wall content
The cell walls contain peptides, hemicellulose and cellulose, and have a membrane.
Pioneer living creature
This algae is called a pioneer living creature because it can live in the places of other living creatures that cannot live.
It can form a thick-walled spores
A filament blue green algae can also form a thick-walled spores that are resistant to heat and drying and are able to fixation / bind N (nitrogen) that is heterocysts. In addition to heterocysts there is also an enlarged Spore section containing food reserves called akinet.
Blue green algae cell structure
Blue-green algae are unicellular, some form colonies, some are yarn-shaped. Examples of unicellular algae are chroococcus and Anacystis; That formed the colony were Merismopedia, Nostoc, and Microcystis; As well as those forming filament such as Oscillatoria, Microcoleus, and Anabaena. The blue green algae cells are arranged (from the outside in) as follows:
Mucilaginous layer
There are on the outside of the cell walls. A Mucilaginous layer task by preventing cells from drying. In addition, mucus facilitates the cell move, because some of these algae can move with the oscillation movement (forward backward). It is not ensured what causes this algae to move.
Cell membranes
It serves to set out the entry of substances from and into cells.
There is a folding of the cell membrane towards forming a photosynthetic lamellae or thylakoid membrane. In this thylakoid membrane, there is chlorophyll. So in different cases, with chlorophyll in the chloroplasts, the green-blue algae does not have chloroplast.
Cytoplasm
It is a Colloids that is composed of water, proteins, fats, sugars, minerals, enzymes, ribosomes, and DNA. In the cytoplasm it lasts the cell metabolic process.
Nucleus acid (DNA)
DNA is found in a location in the cytoplasm, but does not have a core membrane. That is why blue green algae is not classified into prokaryotic.
Mesosome and Ribosome
Ribosome is an organelle for protein synthesis. Meanwhile, Mesosom is the of the cell membrane in the direction that acts as an energy producer.
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