Bryopsidales
Order of algae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bryopsidales is an order of green algae, in the class Ulvophyceae.[1] It is a diverse group of mostly marine macroalgae.[2]
| Bryopsidales | |
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| Dead man's fingers (Codium fragile) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Ulvophyceae |
| Order: | Bryopsidales J.H. Schaffner |
| Families[1] | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Characteristics
The thallus is filamentous, highly branched, and may be packed into a mass. It is coenocytic, having multi-nucleate cells consisting of cytoplasm contained within a cylindrical cell wall. There are no septae, and the many discoid chloroplasts, nuclei and other organelles are free to move through the organism. The whole organism may consist of a single cell; in the genus Caulerpa, this single cell may be several metres across. In the genus Halimeda, whole seabed meadows may consist of an individual, single-celled organism connected by filamentous threads running through the substrate.[3]
Reproduction
Propagation is normally vegetative from small fragments which grow into new individuals. Under certain conditions, sexual reproduction occurs in a process called holocarpy. Almost all of the cytoplasm in the thallus is converted into biflagellate gametes, which are discharged into the sea through papillae. After fertilisation, the zygote becomes a protonema and this, in turn, develops into a new thallus.[3][4]
Phylogeny
Molecular phylogenetic studies suggest the following relationships between extant taxa (Chaetosiphonaceae not included):[2]
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