Question

What are the two types of algae?

Answer 1

Algae:

1. The group of aquatic, photosynthetic, nucleus-bearing eukaryotic organisms lacks true stem, leaves, and roots.
2. Algae come under Kingdom Protista.
3. They have a specialized reproductive system that is multicellular.

The two types of algae are as follows:

Chlorophyta (Green algae):

1. The organism with a unicellular body comes under Chlorophyta.
2. They are usually grass green in colour due to the presence of chlorophyll pigments a and b in their chloroplasts.
3. They store their food in storage bodies called pyrenoids.
4. Asexual reproduction takes place vegetatively and by flagellated zoospores whereas sexual reproduction takes place by the formation of sex cells.
5. Examples: Volvox and Spirogyra.

Rhodophyta ( Red algae)

1. They are multicellular organisms that are mainly found in warmer areas.
2. They are red due to the presence of red pigment, and phycoerythrin in their body.
3. They store food as floridean starch.
4. Asexual reproduction takes place vegetatively by fragmentation and asexual reproduction takes place by non-motile spores, whereas sexual reproduction takes place by the formation of sex cells.
5. Example: Gelidium and Gracilaria