Freshwater plant. ID?
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
- Charles Krebs
- Posts: 5865
- Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:02 pm
- Location: Issaquah, WA USA
- Contact:
Freshwater plant. ID?
This is a freshwater plant that I found in an old sample kept outside. I'm curious if anyone might have some ID information. I'd like to learn more about this species.
The cytoplasmic streaming seen through the microscope is remarkable. Here again I am curious about the round "spiked balls" flowing through the cell. Not a great video but you can see some here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKquFriEDzQ
The cytoplasmic streaming seen through the microscope is remarkable. Here again I am curious about the round "spiked balls" flowing through the cell. Not a great video but you can see some here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKquFriEDzQ
- Wim van Egmond
- Posts: 826
- Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2006 9:28 am
- Location: Berkel en Rodenrijs, the Netherlands
- Contact:
surprisingly nice algae
I too think this is Chara. The interesting geometric spherical structures are antheridia (male sexual organs that produce biflagellate sperm).
Chara is one of the stonewort green algae. They are tough (sometimes calcified), branching, and have thick rhizomes that look like roots, giving a superficial resemblance to higher plants.
The cytoplasmic streaming is beautiful. I didn't know about it in Chara before, and will have to look for it. The chemistry (actin and myosin, same as your muscles) and physics (actin self organizes into spiral filaments) of Chara cytoplasmic steaming (a synonym for cyclosis) were worked out by Ray Goldstein at Cambridge University.
A journal article-
Woodhouse, F.G.; Goldstein, R.E. (2013), "Cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells emerges naturally by microfilament self-organization", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110 (35): 14132–14137
A you tube video by Goldstein Lab-
youtube.com/watch?v=kud4qUhsCxg
A wikipedia article with details about cytoplasmic streaming-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoplasmic_streaming#Benefits_of_cytoplasmic_flow_in_Chara_corallina_and_Arabidopsis_thaliana
I've often enjoyed cyclosis in Elodea or Hydrilla but have generally not looked much at Chara other than scanning for epiphytes clinging to it. It never struck me as pretty like Spyrogyra and other green algae. One local lake grows Chara where waves pound on submerged rocks and I'll be looking for it now.
Thanks for the post. The images you dismiss as not particularly good are still better than my best efforts.
Ed
Chara is one of the stonewort green algae. They are tough (sometimes calcified), branching, and have thick rhizomes that look like roots, giving a superficial resemblance to higher plants.
The cytoplasmic streaming is beautiful. I didn't know about it in Chara before, and will have to look for it. The chemistry (actin and myosin, same as your muscles) and physics (actin self organizes into spiral filaments) of Chara cytoplasmic steaming (a synonym for cyclosis) were worked out by Ray Goldstein at Cambridge University.
A journal article-
Woodhouse, F.G.; Goldstein, R.E. (2013), "Cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells emerges naturally by microfilament self-organization", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110 (35): 14132–14137
A you tube video by Goldstein Lab-
youtube.com/watch?v=kud4qUhsCxg
A wikipedia article with details about cytoplasmic streaming-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytoplasmic_streaming#Benefits_of_cytoplasmic_flow_in_Chara_corallina_and_Arabidopsis_thaliana
I've often enjoyed cyclosis in Elodea or Hydrilla but have generally not looked much at Chara other than scanning for epiphytes clinging to it. It never struck me as pretty like Spyrogyra and other green algae. One local lake grows Chara where waves pound on submerged rocks and I'll be looking for it now.
Thanks for the post. The images you dismiss as not particularly good are still better than my best efforts.
Ed
old AO phase optics on Reichert microstar iv ('crappiest microscope ever produced by the hand of man' )
-
- Posts: 1965
- Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:16 am
- Location: Bigfork, Montana
- Contact:
-
- Posts: 55
- Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2016 11:42 am
- Location: Sweden
- Contact:
-
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:22 pm
- Contact:
thanks for more info
Thanks to Charles for posting the images and thanks to actinophrys for more information.
I'm much further away from being an expert than actinophrys, and his doubts prompted more Googling. Some information about charophyte classification is at-
researchgate.net/publication/262459995_The_genera_Chara_and_Nitella_Chlorophyta_Characeae_in_the_subtropical_Itaipu_Reservoir_Brazil
http://shigen.nig.ac.jp/algae_tree/CharophyceaeE.html
biologydiscussion.com/algae/classification-of-charales-algae/57983
treasurecoastnatives.wordpress.com/category/nitella/
Grossly Chara is said to feel rough and smell musty or like garlic when crushed. Nitella is an inevasive species in several places and is said to feel smooth or slimy in the hand.
The above sources say that Chara usually has additional spike like cells (stipulodes and spines) branching from the nodes, and longitudinal coarse ridges along the main (internodal) cells. The spiral shaped female organ (nucula) is more elongated in Chara than Nitella, and is topped by a crown (coronula) of 5 cells in Chara, 10 in Nitella.
The living world is amazing, and it often takes an expert to get just to genus level taxonomy. Luckily us amateurs can still enjoy exploring and learning more. Thanks again Charles and actinophrys.
Whether Chara or Nitella or another genus, the charophyte internodal cells are huge. There's just one cell between nodes, so each cell is up to several centimeters long. Cytoplasmic streaming has also been filmed in Nitella, including this YouTube video-
youtube.com/watch?v=X_X9-NqCtgA
Thanks again Photomacrography community for teaching me something new and wonderful.
Ed in Minnesota
I'm much further away from being an expert than actinophrys, and his doubts prompted more Googling. Some information about charophyte classification is at-
researchgate.net/publication/262459995_The_genera_Chara_and_Nitella_Chlorophyta_Characeae_in_the_subtropical_Itaipu_Reservoir_Brazil
http://shigen.nig.ac.jp/algae_tree/CharophyceaeE.html
biologydiscussion.com/algae/classification-of-charales-algae/57983
treasurecoastnatives.wordpress.com/category/nitella/
Grossly Chara is said to feel rough and smell musty or like garlic when crushed. Nitella is an inevasive species in several places and is said to feel smooth or slimy in the hand.
The above sources say that Chara usually has additional spike like cells (stipulodes and spines) branching from the nodes, and longitudinal coarse ridges along the main (internodal) cells. The spiral shaped female organ (nucula) is more elongated in Chara than Nitella, and is topped by a crown (coronula) of 5 cells in Chara, 10 in Nitella.
The living world is amazing, and it often takes an expert to get just to genus level taxonomy. Luckily us amateurs can still enjoy exploring and learning more. Thanks again Charles and actinophrys.
Whether Chara or Nitella or another genus, the charophyte internodal cells are huge. There's just one cell between nodes, so each cell is up to several centimeters long. Cytoplasmic streaming has also been filmed in Nitella, including this YouTube video-
youtube.com/watch?v=X_X9-NqCtgA
Thanks again Photomacrography community for teaching me something new and wonderful.
Ed in Minnesota
old AO phase optics on Reichert microstar iv ('crappiest microscope ever produced by the hand of man' )