Plant kingdom

• This kingdom deals with algae, bryophyte, pteridophyte, gymnosperm and angiosperm
• Previously Fungi and members of the Monera and protista was placed under plant kingdom due to
presence of their cell wall
• But at present they have been excluded from Plantae
• Cyanobacteria previously referred as cyanophyceae and placed under plantae but now a days they
are called as cyanobacteria and included under Monera
Types of classification
There are three types
• Artificial classification:
➢ It is based on morphological characters such as habit, colour, number and shape of
leaves.
➢ It gives equal weightage to vegetative and sexual characters
➢ Most of the earliest classification are of this types
Example: Linnaeus system of classification ( based on androecium structure)
Drawback:
➢ vegetative characters are more easily affected by environment
➢ Closely related species are separated from each other

• Natural system of classification:

➢ it is based on natural affinities and consider not only the external features, but also internal
features like ultrastructure, and, embryology and phytochemistry
Example: Bentham and Hooker classification
Drawback: can not correlate the evolutionary sequence`
Advantage: easy identification

• Phylogenetic classification:
➢ based on evolutionary relationships between various organisms
➢ This system assumes that organisms belonging to the same taxa have a common ancestor
Example: Takhtajan classification, Engler -Prantil classification, Hutchinson classification
Advantage: evolutionary relationships can be identified
The origin of organisms can be identified without supporting of fossil evidence

Branches of taxonomy:
Numerical taxonomy: it involves uses of numerical methods for the evolution of similarities and differences
between species with the help of computers
Steps:
1. Numbers and codes are assigned to all observable characters like(+) and (-), data not available
as(0)
2. All possible characters are compared by computers by giving equal importance
3. The organisation and analysis of data forms core of this taxonomy
Advantage: many characters can be considered at the same time

Cytotaxonomy: based on psychological information like chromosome number, structure, behaviour

Chemotaxonomy: based on chemical constituent of the plants
Example: DNA sequence, aromatic compounds etc

Algae

• They are chlorophyll bearing, simple, thalloid, autotrophic and largely aquatic organism
• The term algae was given by Linnaeus
• Phycology: study of algae
• Father of phycology: Fristch

• The form and size of algae is highly variable

➢ Unicelluar: Chlamydomonas, Chlorella, Spirulina
➢ Colonial: Volvox
➢ Filamentous:
Unbranched: Spirogyra, Ulothrix,
Branched: Ectocarpus
 ➢ Parenchymatous: Laminaria, Fucus, Dictyota
• Majority are aquatic
• Some may gorw in moist stones, soils, wood
• Some of them may occur in association with fungi (lichen) and animal (on sloth bear).
• Fresh water: Chlamydomonas, Volvox
• Marine: Porphyra, Laminaria, Sargassum
• Some may grow in association with fungi ( lichen) and animals ( sloth bear)
• Vascular tissue is absent
• Embryo not formed
• Sex organs non jacketed and unicellular ( exception Chara)
• Reproduce by vegetative asexual and sexual methods
• Vegetative reproduction: by fragmentaion
• Asexual reproduction takes place by zoospore, aplanospores, hypnospore, akinete
• Sexual reproduction is of
• Isogamy: fusion between two similar gametes. Gametes maybe motile (
Chlamydomonas,Ulothrix) or nonmotile (conjugation in Spirogyra)
• Anisogamy: fusion of two gametes of dissimilar size (some species of Chlamydomonas, e.g.
C.braunii),Udorina
• Oogamy: fusion between small motile male gamete and large non motile female gamete (Volvox,
Fucus) . This type of reproduction is also reported In Polysiphonia, Porphyra, Gracilaria, Gelidium

Economic importance of algae:

• Half of the total CO2 fixed by photosynthesis is carried out by algae.
• As food: 70 species of marine in algae including Porphyra, Laminaria, Sargassum
• Hydrocolloids: algin from brown algae, carrageen from red algae. Agar mainly produced from
Gelidium, Gracilaria . Agar used as solidifying agent in the preparation of ice cream and jelly
• Protein source: Chlorella, Spirulina. These are also used as food supplements by space travellers
• Iodine: Fucus, Laminaria
• They also increase level of dissolved oxygen

Classification of algae:
Basis: flagellation, pigment, cell wall composition, storage food

Chlorophyceae:
• Commonly called green algae
• Plant body maybe
• unicellular: Chlamydomonas, Chlorella
• Colonial: Volvox
• Filamentous:
o branched: Cladophora
o unbranched: Spirogyra, Ulothrix,
• Pigment: chlorophyll a and b, ( chlorophyll b imparts the grass green colour). Pigments are
localised in chloroplast
• Chloroplast:
o spiral: Spirogyra
o cup shaped: Chlamydomonas
o reticulate: Oedogonium
• Storage food: starch located in pyrinoid wich located in chloroplast. Pyrinoid also store protein.
Some also store oil droplets
• Cell wall: inner cellulosic, outer pectic
• Flagellation: 2 to 8 equal flagella located on a apical side
• Oedogonium have many flagella
• Reproduction:
• Vegetative reproduction: fragmentation
• Asexual reproduction: by zoospores produced within zoosporangia
• Sexual reproduction: isogamy anisogamy and oogamy
• Example: Chlamydomonas, Volvox, Ulothrix, Spirogyra, Chara
Phaeophyceae:
• Commonly called brown algae
• Plant body may be
• Simple branched, filamentous: Ectocarpus
• Large massive (kelp): Fucus, Sargassum
• They are primarily marine
• Pigment: chlorophyll a,c, carotene and xanthohyll (Fucoxanthin, gives the brown colour)
• Storage food: laminarin, mannitol (sugar alochol)
• Cell wall: inner cellulosic outer gelatinous coating of algin
• Plant body is differentiated into
Hold fast: attached to the substratum
Stalk
Stipe
Frond: help in photosynthesis
• Flagellation: biflagellate zoospores that have are pear shaped and have two unequally laterally
attached flagella
• Reproduction: isogamy (Ectocarpus), anisogamy or oogamy (Fucus)
• In isogamy and anisogamy fertilization is external whereas in oogamy fertilization is internal
• Gametes: similar to zoospore
• Example: Ectocarpus, Dictyota, Laminaria, Sargassum, Fucus

Rhodophyceae
• Members are commonly called red algae
• Majority are marine, mainly found in warmer areas
• Pigment: chlorophyll a, d, r-phycierythrine,(impart the red colour)
• Occurs in well lighted regions close to the surface of water and also at great depth in oceans where
relatively little light penetrates
• They are multicellular
• Reserve food: floridian starch ( similar to amylopectin and glycogen)
• Cell wall: inner cellulosic and outer pectic (agar)
• Flagella: absent
• Reproduction
➢ Vegetative reproduction: fragmentation
➢ Asexual reproduction: buy non motile spore
➢ Sexual reproduction: oogamous, by non motile gametes
➢ Complex post fertilization development exist
➢ Example: Polysiphonia, Porphyra, Gelidium, Gracilaria

Note:
➢ Ulothrix exhibit origin of sexual reproduction
➢ Evolution of sex is best studied in chlorophyceae
➢ Calvin cycle discovered by experimenting in Chlorella
➢ Largest algae: Acetabularia (chlorophyceae)
➢ Chlorellin antibiotic obtained from Chlorella
➢ Parasitic alga: Cephaleuros cause red rust of tea
➢ Motile cells are completely in Rhodophyceae
➢ Fucus have air bladder in their frond
➢ In Volvox daughter colony is produced within parent colony by production of gonidia
➢ Chlamydomonas have two whiplash equal flagella paced anteriorly.
➢ Chara have multicellular jacketed sex organ. The male sex organ is called globule and the female
sex organ is called nucule. Nucule placed above the globule in secondary laterals.
➢ In Chara, the cell wall have high amount of silica, and hence Chara is also called stone wart.