Question

Are cyanobacteria and blue-green algae common?

Answer 1

Algae:

1. Algae are capable of photosynthesis and contain photosynthetic pigments.
2. They are multicellular eukaryotes and classified into three groups:
   1. Green algae
   2. Brown algae
   3. Red algae

(a)Green algae:

1. Green algae are also called Chlorophyceae.
2. It contains chlorophyll a and b.
3. Food stored is starch.
4. They flourish well in freshwater as well as the marine environment
5. They are a major source of food for the aquatic environments because they are the producer of the aquatic ecosystems.
6. its examples are Chlamydomonas, Spirogyra, and Chara.

(b)Brown algae:

1. It is also called Phaeophyceae.
2. It contains chlorophyll a, c, and fucoxanthin.
3. They flourish in the marine environment.
4. They are used as food
5. They spread on the surface of the water bodies due to the fastest growth through vegetative reproduction.
6. Food stored is Mannitol and laminarin.
7. Examples are Laminaria, Sargassum, and Fucus.

(c) Red algae:

1. It is also called Rhodophyceae.
2. It contains chlorophyll a, d, and phycoerythrin.
3. Food stored is Floridian starch.
4. It is the oldest algae.
5. They flourish well in brackish water.
6. They are also used as food.
7. Its examples are Gracilaria and Gelidium.

Cyanobacteria:

1. Cyanobacteria belong to the kingdom Monera.
2. Bacteria are the sole member of Monera.
3. They were formerly known as blue-green algae.
4. Cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae because they contain photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll-a (green) and phycocyanin and allophycocyanin (blue) which imparts their characteristic color.
5. Chlorophyll in cyanobacteria is similar to green plants.
6. Anabena and Nostoc are the cynobacyteria.
7. They are unicellular prokaryotes so they are kept in kingdom Monera instead of kingdom Plant in R.H. Whittaker classification(1969).

Cyanobacteria and blue-green algae are the most common algae.