Chara Alga (Branches, Life cycle, Process)

CHARA ALGA

It lives in fresh water and submerged in ponds. it is attached by the Rhiziods. They are attached deep under the water.

In case of mature CHARA they have a sheath of CaCO3 around themselves hats why they are called stone wort.

PLANT BODY of CHARA ALGA

The plant body consists of nodes and internodes.

BRANCHES of CHARA ALGA

They have a branch system which is dimorphic.

1) Branches with limited growth

2) And branches with unlimited growth. In case of unlimited branches they are further divided into nodes and inter nodes. The internodes are longitudinal cells which are one celled.

Young cells consist of one cell with no vacuole. While the mature cells are multinucleated and having many chlorophylls consists of chlorophyll a, b and xanthophylls.

STARCH is their reserved food.

CYCLOSIS.

 It the movement of cytoplasm which is circular and known as cytoplasmic streaming.

REPRODUCTION in CHARA ALGA 

The asexual reproduction by spores is absent.

There are only two types of reproduction, vegetative and sexual.

VEGETATIVE REPRODUCTION

They may be of three types.

1)Amylum stares.

When a group of cells are formed on the lower surface of the nodes it is known as amylum stare.

               These cells have reserved food material which is starch.

2) Bulbils.

             When a group of cells formed on the rhizoids it is known as bulbils.

3) Secondary protonema.

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Oogamous type of reproduction is found in the chara.

Male is globular in shape known as globule. It directed downward.

Female is known as nuculus. It is directed upward.  The nuculus is having central large egg cell which is surrounded by five other cells which open up a free space for reception when the fertilization becomes near. The nuculus contain spermogonium filaments which contain sperms (25-200). Each sperm is coil in shape and flagellated.

PROCESS OF REPRODUCTION

When the sperm is fuses with the large central egg at the nuculus region, then a diploid nucleus or oospores is formed. After this meiosis occurs and four cells are produced. Out of these four cells, the three cells degenerate and the only one cell developed into new chara algae (primary protonema).