Polysiphonia: Overview
Taxonomy:
Belongs to the order
Ceramiales.
Genus name derived from
its polysiphonous thallus
structure.
" Habitat:
Commonly epiphytic on
plants and lithophytic on
rocks.
" Found in brackish
estuaries, intertidal, and
sublittoral regions.
" Prefers quiet waters but
can also inhabit rough or
polluted waters.
Morphology
" Thallus Structure:
Brownish-redto dark
purple, highly branched,
with a feathery
appearance.
Heterotrichous: Consists
of erect branches and a
prostrate section
attached to the substrate
by unicellular rhizoids.
Rhizoids end in flattened
lobed discs (haptera),
aiding in attachment to
substrates or host tissue
(in parasitic forms).
Filament Composition:
Main filament encased by
a gelatinoussheath.
" Consists of parallel
filaments (siphons),
numbering4 to 24.
Central siphon arises
from the central cell,
forming the axial
filament.
Pit connections present
in each cell of the
carpogonial branch,
enabling physiological
communication.
Reproduction
Sexual Reproduction:
" Polysiphonia is
heterothallic (dioecious),
but male and female
gametophytes are
morphologically similar.
Male Gametophyte:
Spermatangia are borne
in dense clusters on
monosiphonous
branches called
trichoblasts.
Each spermatangium
contains a single
uninucleate protoplast
that produces one male
cell (spermatium).
" Each spermatangium
containsa single
uninucleate protoplast
that produces one male
cell (spermatium).
Spermatium is unicellular,
spherical, nonmotile, and
colorless.
Female Gametophyte:
Carpogonium located at
the tip of a reduced three
to four-celled branch
(carpogonial filament).
Carpogonium is flask
shaped with a swollen
base and along tubular
neck (trichogyne), which
functions as a receptive
organ.
Fertilization:
Spermatium attaches to
the trichogyne; common
walls dissolve at the
attachment point.
Auxiliary cells beneath
the carpogonium develop
a tubular connection to
the carpogonium's base.
Diploid carpospores
develop within the
carposporangia, encased
by a haploid pericarp.
Carposporophyte
Development:
Carposporangia are pear
shapedand located at
the tips ofgonimoblast
filaments.
Carpospores released
through the ostiole and
carried by water currents.
Tetrasporophyte Stage:
Carpospores germinate
to form diploid
tetrasporophytes.
Tetrasporophytes
produce haploid
tetraspores.
Tetraspores germinate
without dormancy to
form gametophytes,
completing the life cycle.
