Question

If you had to describe the protozoan Phylum Viridiplantae, what 5 main characteristics would you use, and why?

Answer 1

The protozoan Phylum Viridiplantae, are also known as Green algae, chlorophytes, chlorophyceans.

5 main characteristics are:

• They are unicellular eukaryotes with cell wall composed of cellulose.
• They have two flagella (or in pairs), which are both whiplash or with sparse hairs or scales and anteriorly directed. These help in locomotion.
• Chloroplasts are Variable in the organism; it is grass green with chlorophylls a and b, B-carotene and various xanthophylls. This helps them in photosynthesis.
• The green plants or Viridiplantae, like others eukaryotes , they also use mitochondria as a source of energy generation.Here the mitochondria are small, oval shaped organelles surrounded by two specialized membranes. Mitochondria are the major energy production center and are the sites for aerobic respiration.
• The food reserves are true starch that are deposited within the chloroplast in association with a pyrenoid. They usually reproduce sextually.

Some examples are:

Hydrodictyon ,Volvox , Chlamydomonas , Oedogonium , Ulva , Cladophora , Codium , Acetabularia