Hildenbrandia

Hildenbrandia
The darker red alga encrusting this rock fragment is H. crouaniorum
SEM of a H. rivularis gemma. Scale bar: 50 μm
Scientific classification
Phylum: Rhodophyta
Class: Florideophyceae
Order: Hildenbrandiales
Family: Hildenbrandiaceae
Genus: Hildenbrandia
Nardo, 1834

Hildenbrandia is a genus of thalloid alga comprising 26 species. The slow-growing, non-mineralized thalli take a crustose form.[1] Hildenbrandia reproduces by means of conceptacles and produces tetraspores.

Contents

Morphology

Hildenbrandia cells are around 3–5 μm in diameter and the filaments are around 50–75 μm in height.[2]

The thallus comprises two layers; the hypothallus, which attaches to the rock, and the perithallus, a pseudoparenchymous layer comprising vertical filaments, which unlike coralline red algae is not further differentiated.[3][4]

Growth

Hildenbrandia comprises orderly layers of vertical oblong cells with thick vegetative cell walls, occasionally connected by secondary pit connections with pit plugs in the septal pores.[5] It grows at its margins, away from the centre, and is able to quickly repair any gaps arising by regenerating from a basal layer of cells.[6] As plants become more mature, they become multi-layered and strongly pigmented near their centres, whilst their single-layered margins begin to grow more slowly.[6] Multi-layered areas may develop in the margins; these will detach and float away as gemmae to form new colonies, leaving a single layer of cells beneath them once they separate from the host plant.[6]

Newly settled gemmae form rhizoids.[7]

Conceptacles develop in a haphazard manner; cells in conceptacle regions deform one another and become less regularly shaped as they grow larger.[5]

In a similar fashion to the coralline algae, the outer layer of the thallus is shed seasonally, presumably to avoid colonization by epiphytes.[8]

Habit

The freshwater species H. rivularis[6] and H. angularis[7] seems to form a clade,[9] and require an alkaline pH and hard water, preferring clean water.[10] Unlike most other freshwater red algae (which prefer running water), H. rivularis prefers still water, particularly shady lakes or ponds.[10] H. rubra and other marine species are found in brackish waters, but freshwater / gemma-bearing species cannot tolerate even moderate salinities.[11] The genus is often found in a symbiotic partnership with fungi.[12] Hildenbrandia has a remarkable tolerance to stresses including extreme temperatures, desiccation, and Ultra-violet light; it can be up and photosynthesizing near full capacity just minutes after being cooled to −17°C or subjected to extreme salinities.[13]

Reproduction

Sexual reproduction has never been observed in any Hildenbrandia species.[11] It can reproduce by splitting into multiple colonies by fragmentation, or via stolons (i.e. sending out lateral branches) or gemmae.[6]

Marine Hildenbrandia, on the other hand, reproduce by means of tetraspores that are produced within the thallus by conceptacles.[7]

Systematics

The genus contains these species[14] (this list is out of date):

External links

References

  1. ^ Dethier, M. (1994). "The ecology of intertidal algal crusts: variation within a functional group". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 177: 37–15. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(94)90143-0.  edit
  2. ^ Sherwood, A.; Sheath, R. (2000). "Biogeography and systematics of Hildenbrandia (Rhodophyta, Hildenbrandiales) in Europe: inferences from morphometrics and rbcL and 18S rRNA gene sequence analyses". European Journal of Phycology 35: 143. doi:10.1080/09670260010001735731.  edit
  3. ^ "Hildenbrandia Ben: Morphology". washington.edu. http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/mb/Hildenbrandia_Ben/morphology.html. 
  4. ^ Cabioch, J.; Giraud, G. (1982). "La structure hildenbrandioïde, stratégie adaptative chez les Florideés" (in French). Phycologia 21 (3): 308–315. 
  5. ^ a b Pueschel, C. (1982). "Ultrastructural observations of tetrasporangia and conceptacles in Hildenbrandia (Rhodophyta: Hildenbrandiales)". European Journal of Phycology 17 (3): 333–326. doi:10.1080/00071618200650331.  edit
  6. ^ a b c d e Wayne Nichols, H. (1965). "Culture and Development of Hildenbrandia rivularis from Denmark and North America". American Journal of Botany 52 (1): 9–15. doi:10.2307/2439969. JSTOR 2439969.  edit
  7. ^ a b c Sherwood, A. R.; Sheath, R. G. (2000). "Microscopic analysis and seasonality of gemma production in the freshwater red alga Hildenbrandia angolensis (Hildenbrandiales, Rhodophyta)". Phycological Research 48: 241. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1835.2000.00208.x.  edit
  8. ^ Pueschel, C. (1988). "Cell sloughing and chloroplast inclusions in Hildenbrandia rubra (Rhodophyta, Hildenbrandiales)". European Journal of Phycology 23: 17–23. doi:10.1080/00071618800650021.  edit
  9. ^ Sherwood, A. R.; Sheath, R. G. (2003). "Systematics of the Hildenbrandiales (Rhodophyta): Gene Sequence and Morphometric Analyses of Global Collections". Journal of Phycology 39: 409–422. doi:10.1046/j.1529-8817.2003.01050.x.  edit
  10. ^ a b Eloranta, P.; Kwandrans, J. (2004). "Indicator value of freshwater red algae in running waters for water quality assessment". International Journal of Oceanography a nd H ydrob i ol o g y XXXIII (1): 47–54. ISSN 1730-413X. http://www.oandhs.org/files/60.pdf. 
  11. ^ a b Sherwood, A. R.; Shea, T. B.; Sheath, R. G. (2002). "European freshwater Hildenbrandia (Hildenbrandiales, Rhodophyta) has not been derived from multiple invasions from marine habitats". Phycologia 41: 87. doi:10.2216/i0031-8884-41-1-87.1.  edit
  12. ^ Saunders, G. W.; Bailey, J. C. (1999). "Molecular Systematic Analyses Indicate That the Enigmatic Apophlaea is a Member of the Hildenbrandiales (Rhodophyta, Florideophycidae)". Journal of Phycology 35: 171. doi:10.1046/j.1529-8817.1999.3510171.x.  edit
  13. ^ Garbary, D. (2007). "The Margin of the Sea". ALGAE AND CYANOBACTERIA IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology. 11. pp. 173–191. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6112-7_9.  edit
  14. ^ Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. (2008). "Hildenbrandia". AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=22. Retrieved 2009-04-18.