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Is green algae photosynthetic?
Green algae in the genus Hyalotheca, a group of filamentous desmids (class Charophyceae), use chlorophyll to capture energy from sunlight for photosynthesis. The light reactions of many algae differ from those of land plants because some of them use different pigments to harvest light.
Does green algae have chloroplast pigments?
Cellular structure. Green algae have chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll a and b, giving them a bright green color, as well as the accessory pigments beta carotene (red-orange) and xanthophylls (yellow) in stacked thylakoids.
What is the pigment found in green algae?
chlorophyll
chlorophyll, any member of the most important class of pigments involved in photosynthesis, the process by which light energy is converted to chemical energy through the synthesis of organic compounds. Chlorophyll is found in virtually all photosynthetic organisms, including green plants, cyanobacteria, and algae.
Do algae have pigment?
All algae contain photosynthetic pigments. These are usually an integral part of the structure of the chloroplast lamellae, but sometimes, as in bluegreen algae, they are homogeneously distributed throughout that part of the protoplasm called the “chromatoplasm.” Pigments are molecules, which absorb light.
What are the photosynthetic pigments in algae?
Three major classes of photosynthetic pigments occur among the algae: chlorophylls, carotenoids (carotenes and xanthophylls) and phycobilins. The pigments are characteristic of certain algal groups as indicated below.
Why do algae have different pigments?
Different types of algae have different pigments to maximize on the amount the light they can attract to their chloroplasts, where they perform photosynthesis. Usually the pigment variation is related to the habitat that the algae live in.
How can fungi be photosynthetic?
Fungi are not capable of photosynthesis: They use complex organic compounds as sources of energy and carbon. Some fungal organisms multiply only asexually, whereas others undergo both asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. Most fungi produce a large number of spores that are disseminated by the wind.
What are the characteristics of green algae?
Green algae are organisms which are characterized by having chlorophylls a and b as the major photosynthetic pigments, starch located within the chloroplast as the major storage product and flagella of the whiplash (smooth) type (e.g., Bold and Wynne, 1985).
What are the light-absorbing pigments of algae?
Photosynthesis and light-absorbing pigments. The light reactions of many algae differ from those of land plants because some of them use different pigments to harvest light. Chlorophylls absorb primarily blue and red light, whereas carotenoids absorb primarily blue and green light, and phycobiliproteins absorb primarily blue or red light.
What is the pigment composition of several algal groups?
Table 1:Pigment composition of several algal groups (after Dring 1982): DIVISION COMMON NAME MAJOR ACCESSORY PIGMENT Chlorophyta Green algae chlorophyll b Charophyta Charophytes chlorophyll b Euglenophyta Euglenoids chlorophyll b Phaeophyta Brown algae chlorophyll c1 + c2, fucoxanthin
What are the three types of photosynthetic pigments?
Three major classes of photosynthetic pigments occur among the algae: chlorophylls, carotenoids (carotenes and xanthophylls) and phycobilins. The pigments are characteristic of certain algal groups as indicated below.