Question

What is the Oedogonium life cycle?

Answer 1

Oedogonium:

1. Oedogonium is a genus of free-living filamentous green algae.
2. It is an unbranched, filamentous green alga distinguished by prominent rings at the apical ends of certain cells.
3. It is only found in freshwater.
4. It develops elongate filaments of cells, the majority of which are non-flagellated, cylindrical, and have a cellulose-chitin cell wall.

The life cycle of Oedogonium:

1. Oedogonium reproduces both asexually and sexually, using mobile zoospores and sperm, oogonia, and zygospores.
2. Oedogonium has both asexual and sexual stages in its life cycle.
3. It goes through a haplontic life cycle.
4. Sperm are discharged from parental cells and chemo-attracted to oogonia that contain an egg.
5. Sperm enters the oogonium through a hole in the cell wall and fertilizes the egg.
6. Fertilization occurs, and the oogonium develops a thick wall, resulting in the formation of a structure known as a zygospore.
7. The cell inside the zygospore eventually undergoes meiosis, and haploid daughter cells are released as mobile zoospores, which, like asexually generated zoospores, swim to a substrate, attach themselves, and lengthen into filaments.