Among the many plants actively participating in the natural cycle of substances, there are algae, which produce a large amount of oxygen as a result of photosynthesis and bind carbon into organic substances. The last to eat many animals that live in the waters. Also, these plants take part in the formation of sedimentary rocks and in the formation of soil.
This article provides information about one of the types of algae, about ulotrix: reproduction, features, etc.
Algae Overview
All algae belong to lower plants. In total, there are more than 30,000 species. Among them there are forms both unicellular and multicellular. In the former, the body consists of only one cell (some form colonies of cells), in the latter, the body is a thallus (or thallus). The ulotrix presented later in the article is a multicellular alga.
The name of the algae speaks of their habitat - in the water (in sea and fresh), but they can be found in many other moistened places, for example, on the bark of trees and in the soil. Some varieties can live even in the hottest springs and on glaciers. They have a variety of sizes, some reach a length of several meters.
The cells of many algae, except chlorophyll, contain brown, blue, red and orange pigments, which give them a color. These plants are predominantly divided into brown, red and green.
Ulotrix plant: structure, photo
Ulotrix is โโa genus of plants belonging to the department of green algae.
This is a bright green filamentous multicellular algae. Often underwater snags and stones are surrounded by silky threads of this plant. They do not branch, but are attached at one end to the substrate. Each thread consists of a number of small cells, and it grows due to the transverse division of the latter.
Ulotrix is โโan alga whose chromatophore (pigment-containing cell) has the form of an open ring.
Places of growth
The genus, combining more than 25 species of algae, is mostly distributed in fresh flowing water bodies. Representatives of this group of plants are found less frequently in the seas.
Often on solid underwater substrates a lot of mud is formed, consisting of numerous individuals of ulotrix.
Reproduction of ulotrix
Like the algae of spirogyra, ulotrix also propagates in two ways: asexual and sexual.
Under favorable conditions, some algae cells form zoospores, each of which has 2-4 flagella. A floating zoospore can attach to an object, and then share, forming a new thread of algae.
Ulotrix is โโa plant that is able to multiply under adverse conditions and sexually. Some cells of its filament contain gametes having 2 flagella. After they exit the cells, they form, merging in pairs, zygotes, which, in turn, subsequently divide into 4 cells, which also subsequently give rise to individual strands of algae.
The value of filamentous algae
Ulotrix is โโan algae, which, like other plants of this species, is of no small importance for water bodies. When organic substances appear in water, they reduce the content of carbon dioxide and enrich it with oxygen, which is very important for the respiration of many inhabitants of water bodies. Also, green algae are included in the diet of fish and other living things.
There are also negative points. Excessive reproduction, for example, in irrigation canals and fish ponds, brings considerable damage to the economic activities of people.
Human use
A person in the process of his life uses many types of algae (including ulotrix). It is a good supplement to animal feed. The plant is also used as a potash fertilizer.
From marine algae, iodine, agar-agar, potassium salts, bromine and adhesives are obtained. Plants are also used to cleanse contaminated water bodies.
In the waters of fresh plants, these are involved in the formation of sapropel, which is widely used in mud therapy. Some types of algae (porphyry, kelp) are used by people and in food.
Conclusion
The most common and well-studied species is the belted ulotrix. Many scientists believe that the importance of this alga in the process of evolution is quite large. In their opinion, it was this group of organisms that gave rise to all green multicellular plants growing in the aquatic world.