Integrated Taxonomic Information System – Report

Is Micrasterias a species?

Integrated Taxonomic Information System – Report

Family Desmidiaceae
Genus Micrasterias C. A. Agardh Ex Ralfs, 1848
Direct Children:
Species Micrasterias abrupta West and West
Species Micrasterias americana (Ehrenberg) Ralfs

What kind of organism is desmids?

microscopic green algae
desmid, (order Desmidiales), order of single-celled (sometimes filamentous or colonial) microscopic green algae, comprising some 5,000 species in about 40 genera. Desmids are sometimes treated as a family (Desmidiaceae) of the order Zygnematales.

What phylum do desmids belong to?

Charophyta
Desmidiales, commonly called desmids (Gr. desmos, bond or chain), are an order in the Charophyta, a division of green algae in which the land plants (Embryophyta) emerged. Or in other words, Desmid, (order Desmidiales), order of single-celled (sometimes filamentous or colonial) microscopic green algae.

Where is Micrasterias found?

Organisms belonging to the genus Micrasterias are desmids, microscopic green algae that occur in all types of freshwater habitats around the world, usually in acid bogs or lakes. Only a few genera are found in alkaline waters.

What do Micrasterias do?

They convert the sugar to a starch for storage. Micrasterias can produce both asexually and sexually. Asexual reproduction occurs via mitosis. When this occurs the genetic material of Micrasterias is duplicated and two small semi-cells grow between the original semi-cells, gradually increasing in size.

How big is Micrasterias?

Dictyosomes of Micrasterias are unique organelles measuring 2–3 μm in diameter and revealing a constant number of 11 cisternae independent from the stage of the cell cycle. They are thus many times larger than in higher plant cells or in other algae (see also Lütz-Meindl et al., 2015).

What do desmids do?

Many Desmids secrete mucilage from pores in the cell wall. With this they can move towards light or avoid too bright light. It also acts as a protective layer.

How are desmids recognized?

Desmids can be recognised by their symmetry. Two, mostly ornamented semi-cells are joined by a narrow connection called the isthmus. This where the spherical nucleus is situated.

Is Micrasterias unicellular?

Micrasterias is a unicellular green alga of the order Desmidiales. Its species vary in size reaching up to hundreds of microns. Micrasterias displays a bilateral symmetry, with two mirror image semi-cells joined by a narrow isthmus containing the nucleus of the organism.

What is Pyrenoid in botany?

Definition of pyrenoid : a protein body in the chloroplasts of algae and hornworts that is involved in carbon fixation and starch formation and storage.

What is the class of Oscillatoria?

CyanophyceaeOscillatoria / Class