Division Charophyta

Division Charophyta 
Occurrence: Its members are found in fresh water, stagnant ponds. They are attached to the bottom by rhizoids. They are found in warm and cool regions of temperate zone.

1.
Occurrence: Charophyceae, class of green algae (division Chlorophyta)

Its members are found in fresh water, stagnant ponds. They are attached to the bottom by rhizoids. They are found in

warm and cool regions of temperate zone.

2.
Vegetative structure: The plant body shows complex structures. It has erect axis. This axis has nodes and

internodes. Each internode consists of single large elongated cell. But each node consists of a plate of small cells.

Each node has two types of branches:

•Branches of limited growth: These are present in the form of whorl.

•Branches of unlimited growth: These are only one or more.

3.
Cell structure: Each cell has single nucleus. It has many discoid chloroplasts. Cell wall is composed of cellulose. A

large number of crystals of calcium carbonate are also present in cellulose.

t body shows complex structures. It has erect axis. This axis has nodes and internodes. Each internode Branches of limited growth: These
are present in the form of whorl.
Branches of unlimited growth: These are only one or more.
Cell structure: Each cell has single nucleus. It has many discoid chloroplasts. Cell wall is composed of cellulose. A large number of crystals of calcium carbonate are also present in cellulose.
Charophyta
• Pigments: Pigments are chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and Xanthophyll.

• Reserve food material is starch.

5. Asexual reproduction: Asexual reproduction by spore formation is absent. Vegetative reproduction

occurs by special propagules. These are:

• Amylum stars: These are star shaped aggregates of cells. They are developed at the lower nodes.

• Bulbills: These are formed at the rhizoids.

• Protonemal outgrowth: These are also used for vegetative propagules.

6. Sexual reproduction: Sexual reproduction is oogamous. Plant may be monoecious or dioecious. Male

sex organ is antheridia and female sex organ is oogonia. Both organs are enclosed by sheath of sterile cells.
It forms male and female fruiting bodies. These bodies are called globule and nucule.

 Antherozoids are biflagellated and coiled. Oospore produces filamentous protonema stage.

Classification

• The charophytes are initially classified to division Chlorophyta according to Hoek, Mann and
Jahns system.Newer classifications of algae though separate the charophytes from the
chlorophytes, such as that in Leliaert et al.
• Accordingly, the charophytes, together with the embryophytes, belong to Streptophyta of
Viridiplantae. The Viridiplantae is a clade of green plants and are characterized by having
chlorophyll pigments a and b, the presence of cellulose in cell wall, lacking phycobilins, and
the storing of starch within the plastids. It should be noted, however, that the taxonomic
classification of organisms is bound to change as further studies of the species would lead to
newer system of classification, such as that in The NCBI taxonomy database.
Evolution
• the charophytes could have come from the green algae. The green algae are presumed to
have originated from the endosymbiosis between a eukaryote and a photosynthetic
prokaryote. This postulate is referred to as the endosymbiotic theory.
• Accordingly, the prokaryote eventually became the plastid (particularly, chloroplast) inside
the cell. This event might have led to the emergence of green algae. The evolutionary
lineage of the green algae forked into charophytes and chlorophytes. The charophytes
evolved and diverged into various groups and then gave rise to the embryophytes.
Charophytes together with the embryophytes make up the clade, Streptophyta.
Economic Importance
1. Food:
A number of green algae are used as food, e.g., Ulva, Caulerpa, Enteromorpha. Chlorella can
yield food rich in lipids, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
2. Antibiotics:
They can be extracted from Chlorella and Caulerpa.
3. Parasites:
Cephaleuros virescens causes red rust of tea and reduces yield of tea. It also reduces the yield
of coffee, pepper, citrus, etc.
4. Sewage Oxidation:
Sewage oxidation ponds contain a number of green algae, e.g., Chlamydomonas, Chlorella
• Green Algae as Ancestors of Land Plants:
chara
 Taxonomic Position

Division Charophyta

Class Charophyceae

Order Charales

Family Characeae

Genus Chara
 • Chara grows submerged in
fresh water and upon muddy
or sandy bottoms of pools and
ponds, or in lime stone
streams.
• Certain species have the
capacity of precipitating
Occurrence Calcium carbonate from the
water and covering themselves
with calcareous layers.
• Clear hard water is suitable for
their growth.
• Mature plant is enriched with
CaCO3, therefore, they are
called as stone worts.
 Plant Body

• The plant body is thallus.

• The plant attains a height of 20-30cm.
• The thallus is erect branched structure,
mainly differentiated into rhizoids and
main axis

Main axis
 Rhizoids

• The rhizoids are white, thread like,

multicellular and branched structures
• Rhizoids help in attachment of plant to
substratum and absorption of minerals
 Main Axis

• The main axis is erect, long,

branched and differentiated
into nodes and internodes
• The internode consists of
single, much elongated or
oblong cell
 Thallus Structure

From each node arise the following

four types of appendages:
• i- Branches of limited growth or
Branchlets
• ii- Branches of unlimited growth or
Long branches or Axillary branches
• iii- Stipulodes
• iv-Cortex
 Branches of limited
growth - Branchlets

• Each node bears a whorl of

branches which has limited
growth.
• These are called branchlets.
  Branches of unlimited growth - Long
branches or Axillary branches

• There are one or two branches of

unlimited growth may also be
present in each node.
• They arises singly at the older
nodes of the main axis.
• They often called as axillary
branches.
• The axillary branches continue the
growth of thallus.
 Cell Structure

• Young cells are uninucleate

• They do not have vacuoles
• The mature cells develop a
large central vacuole
• Its nuclei divide by amitosis
and it becomes multinucleate

Nodal cell Internodal cell

 Cell Structure

• Cells have many chloroplasts

• These chloroplasts are
longitudinally arranged in the
peripheral portion of
cytoplasm
• Chloroplast contains pigments
chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b
and Xanthophyll
Nodal cell Internodal cell
 Cell Structure

• The cell wall in internodal cell is

impregnated with silica and
Calcium carbonate

• The reserve food material is

starch

• The cytoplasm shows cyclic

movements
Nodal cell Internodal cell
 Reproduction
 Chara reproduces by:

• Vegetative and sexual means

• Asexual reproduction by spore formation is absent
 Vegetative Reproduction

 The vegetative reproduction in chara involves various kinds of

reproductive bodies which on detachment from the parent plant gives
rise to a new plant.
 The common means of vegetative reproduction are as follows.
• Amylum stars
• Bulbils
• Amorphous bulbils
• Secondary protonema
(protonema is an organ specialized for the penetration of mud covering the
nodes or oospores of Chara and thus serves to search for light, comparable to
etiolated hypocotyls and stems in seedlings of higher plants)
i- Amylum Stars
• These are star shaped groups of cells
developed from the lower nodes.
• The cells contain amylum starch.
• After being detached these develop into
new plants.
ii-Bulbils
• These are small rounded or star-
shaped tuberous bodies that
develop either on rhizoids or on
stem nodes.
• These develop into new plant on
detachment
iii-Amorphous Bulbils
 These are small cells developed and
aggregated at the node, called
amorphous bulbils.
 On being detached from the mother
plant, they germinate and develop
into new plants
 iii-Secondary Protonema

• These are thread like structures developed from primary

protonema or from the basal cell of the rhizoid
• These are called secondary protonema and develop into
new plants like primary protonema
 Sexual Reproduction
• Sexual reproduction of Chara is an
advanced oogamous type
• The sex organs are macroscopic and
large
• The male sex organ is spherical and
yellow to red in colour, called globule
• The female sex organ is more or less oval
and green in colour, called the nucule or
oogonium
• They develop on the nodes of the branch
of limited growth (i.e., primary lateral),
intermingled with secondary laterals.
• Nucule is always situated singly
above the globule
• Most of the species are homothallic
or monoecious
• But some are heterothallic or
dioecious
 Globule

• The male fructification is called

as globule
• The mature globule is bright
yellow in colour and has
following structures:
• i) Pedicel cell
• ii) Shield cells
• iii) Manubrium
• iv) Primary capitula
• v) Secondary capitula
• vi) Antheridial filament
• vii) Antherozoid
 Pedicel Cell
• The globule is attached to the plant
by a large cell called as pedicel cell
• It extends within the cavity of the
globule and join with the primary
capitula
 Shield Cells
• Each globule is in the form of ball
like structure whose wall consists of
large plate like eight cells called as
shield cells
• The outer wall of each shield cell
has redial out growth therefore it
appears a multicellular structure
Manubrium
• On the inner side of shield cells in
the center is attached an elongated
cell called manubrium
Shield
Primary Capitula Cells
• The inner ends of manubrial cells are
united to form eight isodiametric
cells called as primary capitula
 Secondary Capitula
Each primary capitula has one or two
smaller cells towards the cavity of
globule called as secondary capitula
 Antheridial Filament
• Attached to the primary or
secondary capitula are several
branched uniseriate filaments
called as antheridial filament
• Its contents are metamorphosed
into a single antherozoid
 Antherozoid
• Each antherozoid is an elongated
somewhat coiled structure
• It bears two flagella
 Liberation of Antherozoids
• When the antherozoids are
mature ,the shield cells are
separated from each other
exposing antheridial filament.
• Antherozoids are then escaped
through a pore.
• The liberation of antherozoid
may take place in the morning
and they may swim until that
evening.
 Nucule
The female fructification is called as
nucule. It consist of following parts.
 Pedicel Cell
• It is present at the base of the
nucule on which are present central
and stalk cell
 Oogonium
• Upper to the stalk cell is a very uOogonium
much enlarged structure called as
oogonium.
• Its contents are transformed into a
single large uninucleate egg Pedpedicel cell
 Tube Cells
(Corona)
• The oogonium is covered by
five elongated, spirally twisted
cells called as tube cells
 Corona
• At the top of the oogonium is a
crown of small five cells called
corona
 Fertilization
• When the nucule is mature, the five tube cells get separated from
each other forming narrow slits between them
• Antherozoids are chemotactically attracted towards ovum (egg)
• The antherozoids enter through these slits and penetrate
gelatinized wall of the nucule
• Many antherozoids enter nucule but one of those fertilizes the
egg to make a diploid zygote
• The zygote secretes a thick wall around itself to make oospore
 Oospore
• The mature oospore is hard, oval, ellipsoid structure which
may be brown black or golden brown
• The oospore inside contains a diploid nucleus and many oil
globules in cytoplasm
• On maturity of oospore the inner walls of tube cells get
thickened, suberised and silicified
• The oogonial as well as oospore walls become thick
• The oospore nucleus moves towards the apical region
 Germination

• During germination the nucleus

of oospore migrates towards the Haploid nuclei

upper region
• The nucleus then undergoes
meiotic division to form 4 haploid
nuclei
• The oospore then divides into two unequal cells of which the upper
lenticular cell contains one nucleus and lower large basal cell contains three
nuclei
• The nuclei of the basal cell gradually degenerate
• The lenticular cell projects out by rupturing the
oospore wall and divides mitotically by an
oblique longitudinal septum to form a larger
protonemal initial and a small rhizoidal initial
• The protonemal initial is differen­
tiated into nodes and internodes
and form the upper part of the
plant body
• Whereas the rhizoidal initial
forms rhizoids 
• Secondary rhizoids may develop
from the lower node of
protonemal filament
Life Cycle of Chara
Video Link To
Understand • https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=HFLCLyMt_TQ
Chara
 References
• R.E. Lee. Phycology. 2008. Cambridge University Press
• https://www.biologydiscussion.com/algae/life-cycle-algae/chara-occurrence-
structure-and-reproduction-algae/21135
Thank You
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