Chlamydomonas: features of structure and organization

For a very long time scientists could not determinethe systematic position of an amazing organism, which will be discussed in our article. After all, this single-celled creature is able to actively move, while carrying out the process of photosynthesis. Yes, and its name is of interest. This is chlamydomonas.

Department of Green Seaweed

As a result of long reasoning, scientists came tothe conclusion that this organism is a representative of the kingdom of the plant, since it is capable of independently synthesizing organic substances in the light and contains green plastids in the cell.

Chlamydomonas (photo demonstrates the contentscells) belongs to the group of Green algae, which as a whole has up to 15 thousand species. You can meet her in small fresh water reservoirs. Most often they are well warmed up. This alga is not very fastidious to the purity of water, so it actively multiplies in a polluted environment.

Chlamydomonas: cell structure

Despite the fact that this seaweed is representedonly one cell of microscopic dimensions, it has a rather complex structure capable of carrying out all the necessary processes of vital activity.

Chlamydomonas has an oval cell, and sometimespear-shaped. There are two flagella on its anterior margin. It's organelle movement. The cell membrane contains pectin substances and a glycoprotein. These carbohydrates impart strength to the outer layer of the body.

Like other cells, inside iscytoplasm - internal semi-liquid content, giving shape and metabolizing. Most of the algae is occupied by the chloroplast. It has a cup-shaped shape. Sometimes it is also called chromatophor. It is located pyrenoid - the formation of a protein nature, around which nutrients are deposited. Also in the cytoplasm is a photosensitive eye - a kind of "sense organ". It is called stigma.

Functions of contractile vacuoles

Chlamydomonas is a water inhabitant. Therefore, it constantly needs to remove the fluid that enters the cell from the environment. This happens with the help of special organelles - contractile vacuoles. Why does water enter chlamydomonas? The thing is that the salt content in the water body is usually much higher than in the cell itself. According to the laws of physics, the liquid also comes from an area with a higher concentration to a smaller one. Those. check pattern water plants. The contractile vacuoles rid the alga from the excess fluid.

Features of cell vital activity

The method of feeding chlamydomonas ismixotroph. This means that in the light it is capable of photosynthesis. But in the absence of the necessary conditions for the synthesis of organic substances, it becomes a heterotroph. It simply sucks the ready-made nutrients that are in the water.

When there is a lack of moisture, the cell dumps organelles of motion, and all processes of vital activity are suspended. So it tolerates unfavorable conditions of chlamydomonas.

Reproduction of algae occurs differentlyways. Most often - asexual. In this case, the cell is modified. She drops the flagella, so the movement becomes impossible. Inside the cell, zoospores are formed. Their number can vary from 2 to 8. These are mobile cells. They leave the maternal body, grow and begin an independent existence. This process is very intensive - it is repeated every 24 hours. When conditions are unfavorable for the life of chlamydomonas, it goes on to sexual reproduction. At the same time gametes are formed inside it - the sex cells. They exit into the water, where they merge in pairs. As a result, zygotes are formed. In this state they are before the advent of favorable conditions. Then the zygotes divide, and each of them forms 4 adults.

The importance of chlamydomonas in nature and human life

This representative of green algae has beenis the object of laboratory research. In nature, its significance is associated with the flowering of shallow standing water bodies. This process is especially active in autumn and spring. These are the periods of the greatest intensity of algae reproduction.

Being a single-celled microscopic creature, the green alga of chlamydomonas has a rather complex structure and vital processes that make it possible to exist in an aquatic environment.