Name: Devashish Vijay Sawant

Roll no.121 Class:FYBSC

Economic importance of Algae

& Fungi
Introduction
• Cyanophyceae are a primitive group of algae and consists of 150
genera and about 2500 species.
• Members of this class are often called as Blue-Green Algae due to
presence of dominant pigment called c-phycocyanin.
• The members of this class are simplest living autotrophic
prokaryotes.
• Characteristics – 1. Nucleus is of Prokaryotic Nature.
2. Absence of well organized cell organelles.
3. Pigments are distributed throughout the
Chromoplasm.
 Occurance
• Most Members of Cyanophycae are found in various different
habitats.
• Most of the species are fresh water, few are marine and some are
also terrestrial.
• Species of some members like Anabaena grow as endophytes in
thallus of Bryophytes and Pteridophytes and Nostoc in the roots of
Gymnosperms.
• Some species grow symbiotically with fungi and form lichens.
• Thier thallus maybe in the Unicellular form or Colonial form (Non-
Filamentous and Filamentous).
Importance
• About 22 filamentous members of Cyanophyceae like Nostoc,
Anabaena, Aulosira, Anabinopsis, Calothrix, Scytonema, etc. Can
fix atmospheric nitrogen and form nitrogenous compounds which
are absorbed by plants for nutrition.
• Few species of Nostoc, Anabaena, Scytonems form a thick substratum
over the soil resulting a reclamation of land.
Economic importance of algae
O Algae are photosynthetic microorganisms that can synthesise their own food. They
can serve us lot of purposes and are economically important.
O Algae are used as food as they are rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and few other
inorganic substances. Spirogyra is the chief source of food. Some algae are found to
be rich in protein content when compared to egg.
O Agar –Agar is used in preparation of ice-cream and jellies. e.g. Gelidium
O Algae are chewed instead of tobacco. e.g. Rhodomenia
O Algae is used extensively in industries to prepare some products like sugar, soap,
cement, rubber blotting paper etc.
O Algae are used to prepare algin used to prepare rollers for typewriters.
O Algae are used in agriculture to increase soil fertility e.g. Nostoc, Anabena.
O Some algae are used in the preparation of medicines.
 Ecological
Importance
• Cyanophyceae prevent soil erosion, help in soil water retention,
sodium removal and act as the first colonizers in land reclamation.
Blooms of some species release toxins and lead to anoxia in the
habitat to detriment of biota.
• Spirulina and Nostoc commune are source of single cell proteins,
edible to man.
• Some species act a bio fertilizers, as they provide nutrition to growing
crops.
• Cyanophyceae are of great importance in aquaculture too.
Example of Algae
Nostac
O The cyanobacteria composed of beaded
filaments, which aggregate to form a
gelatinous mass, growing in water and
damp places and able to fix nitrogen
from the atmosphere.
O Mostly free-living in aquatic or damp
habitats.
O Exists on the water surface
O Can adapt to extreme temperatures.
O Forms a gelatinous colony, appearing
cylindrical, spherical or ovoid.
Anabaena
O A genus of freshwater cyanobacteria,
having cells in beadlike filaments and
often contaminating reservoirs, giving a
fishy odor and taste to the drinking water.
O Forms a symbiotic relationship with
mosquito fern, legumes, rice plant, etc.
O Exists within 1m of the depth of the water
body.
O Exists in a wide temperature range up to
74 degrees of Celcius.
O Forms filaments, which are coiled or
straight
 Introduction
The word fungus is from the Latin word for mushroom, which is
also similar to the Greek word for sponge. Indeed, the familiar
mushroom is a reproductive structure used by only some of the
fungi. There are many fungal species that don't produce
mushrooms at all. The kingdom Fungi includes an enormous
variety of living organisms collectively referred to as
Eucomycota, or true Fungi. While scientists have identified
almost 150,000 species of fungi as of 2020,1 this is only a
fraction of the millions of fungal species likely present on Earth.
Occurance
O They are cosmopolitan means they can be found in air, water
soil, and on plants and animals.
O The warm and humid places are preferred as the optimum
environment for their growth.
 Economic Importance of fungi
O Fungi are the saprophytic division of living organisms. They can be
useful and harmful fungi around us.
O Fungi can be used as food in the form of Mushrooms and Morels.
O Fungi are used in industries in the production of bakery products
and in the production of wine by fermentation process.
O Fungi can be used in medicine i.e. in the production of antibiotics.
O Fungi can be used in the commercial production of organic
substances like citric acid, fumaric acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid etc.
O Fungi are used in agriculture to enhance the fertility of the soil.
 Example of fungi
Phycomycetes Ascomycetes (SacBasidiomycetes (Club
Deuteromycetes
(Lower Fungi) Fungi) Fungi) (Fungi imperfection)
•Saprolegnia • Yeast • Agaricus • Cercospora
• Rhizopus • Aspergillus • Polyporus • Collectotrichum
• Mucor • Pencillium • Puccinia • Trichoderma
• Albugo • Neurospora • Ustilago • Pyricularia
• Lycoperdon • Fusarium
• Pythium • Peziza