Green Algae and Bryophytes Lecture Review

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms related to Green Algae and Bryophytes, including their ecological roles, symbiotic relationships, human uses, life cycles, and unique characteristics.

Chlamydomonas

An example of a freshwater green alga producer.

Pithophora

An example of a freshwater green alga producer.

Chaetomorpha

An example of a marine green alga producer.

Symbionts (or Mutualists)

Green algae that live in close, beneficial association with other organisms, such as in lichens or animals.

Lichens

Symbiotic organisms formed by a fungus and a photosynthetic partner, often a green alga like Trebouxia or Trentepohlia.

Trebouxia

A single-celled green alga found as a symbiont in lichens like Parmelia sulcata.

Trentepohlia

A filamentous green alga found as a symbiont in lichens like Trentepohlia abietina.

Chlorohydra viridissima

A freshwater green hydra that hosts single-celled Chlorella as endosymbionts.

Chlorella

A single-celled green alga found as an endosymbiont in certain animals like Green Hydra and freshwater sponges.

Endosymbionts

Cells taken into host animal cells via phagocytosis, living within vesicles inside the animal cell cytoplasm.

Photobioreactors

Systems used with algae for biofuel production and other industrial compounds.

Bryophytes

Non-vascular plants that branched off ancestral land plants about 500 million years ago, characterized by lack of lignin, true roots, pollen, seeds, flowers, and fruit.

Viridiplantae

The clade of organisms that includes green algae and land plants.

Embryophytes

The formal name for land plants.

Cuticle

A protective, waxy layer on the surface of plants that helps prevent water loss, enabling colonization of wet land.

Stomata

Pores on plant surfaces that allow for gas exchange, facilitating colonization of wet land by early land plants.

Alternation of Generations

A plant life cycle that involves both a multicellular diploid (sporophyte) and a multicellular haploid (gametophyte) generation.

Gametophyte

The dominant, multicellular haploid generation in bryophytes that produces gametes.

Sporophyte

The dependent, multicellular diploid generation in bryophytes that develops from the zygote and produces spores.

Polytrichum

An example of a moss displaying a leafy vegetative growth habit (dominant gametophyte).

Marchantia

An example of a liverwort displaying a thalloid vegetative growth habit (dominant gametophyte).

Rhizoids

Single cells or single-celled filaments that anchor bryophyte gametophytes and absorb some water and nutrients, distinct from true roots.

Phyllid

The simple 'leaf-like' structure of a moss, lacking veins.

Gemmae

Clonal gametophytic tissue masses used for asexual reproduction in bryophytes like Marchantia and Herzogia.

Zygotic Meiosis

A type of life cycle characteristic of multicellular green algae, where meiosis occurs immediately after zygote formation.

Sporic Meiosis

A type of life cycle characteristic of embryophytes (land plants), where meiosis produces spores and involves a multicellular sporophyte generation.

Antheridia

Male sexual structures on male gametophytes of mosses, responsible for producing sperm.

Archegonia

Female sexual structures on female gametophytes of mosses, containing an egg.

Protonema

The filamentous structure that spores of mosses first develop into, from which bulbils (buds) then arise.

Ephemeropsis trentepohlioides

An unusual moss where the protonema remains persistent and forms the mature gametophyte structure, often orange due to carotenoids.

Tayloria callophylla

A 'dung moss' that grows on animal dung and releases compounds with a carrion smell to attract insects for spore dispersal.

Vesicularia dubyana (Java Moss)

A popular aquatic moss that lives fully submerged underwater.

Sphagnum moss (Peat Moss)

A type of moss widely used as a soil modifier, a fuel source (peat), and for flavoring scotch due to its acidic properties.

BryoTechnology

Biotechnology utilizing mosses, advantageous due to absence of animal components, human-like glycosylation, and a haploid genome for easier genetic engineering.