Conjugation

in
Spirogyra
1.Two
filaments
line
up
side
by
side.
2.Bulges
appear
from
opposite
cells.
3.The
bulges
touch
off
each
other.
4. The wall between the cells break down and form a conjugation tube.
5. The protoplasts of one filament shrink faster than the other and move through the
conjugation tubes. These cells are known as the male gametes (because they move). The
stationary
protoplasts
are
called
the
female
gametes.
6. The nuclei fuse and form a diploid zygote. The stages are more or less simultaneous in
all cells of a filament. Therefore after fertilisation there is one filament of empty cells
and
one
containing
zygotes.
7. The zygote forms a thick wall and is then called a dormant zygospore.
8. The cell walls rupture and the dormant zygospores are liberated.
9. When favourable conditions return the zygospores germinate by meiosis. Only one of
the four haploid daughter nuclei survives and divides by mitosis to form a
new filament.
Spirogyra is a freshwater alga found freely floating on the surface of the
stagnant pools, ponds and ditches, etc. It is commonly known as water silk or
pond silk.
Structure- Spirogyra is a unbranched filament. All the cells are alike and
arranged in a single row. The cells are cylindrical, longer broad. The cell wall is
two layered; the outer layer is of pectic substance and the inner of cellulose.
Inside the cell, cytoplasm is present which surrounds a large central vacuole.
There is a large single nucleus present in the center of the cell. The nucleus is
held by cytoplasmic strands. The most characteristics feature of the cell is the
ribbon or starp-shaped choloroplasts spirally arranged. The number of
choloropast varies from 1 to 16. There are many pyrenoids are present on the
choloroplast.
Reproduction: Spirogyra reproduces both asexually and sexually. Asexual
reproduction is by means of spore productions. There is also vegetative
reproduction in some species.
(1) Vegitative Reproduction:
it takes place due to fragmentation. The filament may break due to mechanical
injury or due to dissoloution of middle lamella or gelatinization of cells.
(2) Asexual Reproduction:
It takes place by menas of akinetes, aplanospores and azygospores. These are formed due to the
contraction of protoplasm and formation of new cellulose walls around it. These spores are
formed under unfavourable conditions. During favourable conditions, they germinate to form
the new filament.

(3) Sexual Reproduction:

Sexual reproduction in Spirogyra takes place by conjugation. It is isogamous type. Fusion of
these non-flagllate gametes is resulted in zygospore. Two methods of conjugation have been
found in Spirogyra i.e. (1) Lateral conjugation and (2) Scalariform conjugation. These are
discussed below.
(i) Lateral conjugation:
It takes place between two cells of the same filament. Such species are, therefore, called
hmothallic. Lateral conjugation agin is of three types:
(a) Indirect Lateral conjugation (b) Terminal conjugation (c) Direct Lateral conjugation.
(a) Indirect Lateral conjugation:
In this process there is a tube-like outgrowth in-between two adjacent cells close to the common
cross walls. These outgrowths extend laterally ultimately forming conjugation tube. The
contracted protoplasm of one cell moves to the adjacent cell and fuses to form the zygospore.
The zygospore is diploid in nature.
(b) Terminal conjugation:
In this method, the so-called male gamete enters the female gamete by perforating the spetum
of conjugation tube. The conjugation tubes are produced on either side of the septum of the two
conjugating cells.
(c) Direct Lateral conjugation:
In this case, the filament is attached to the substratum by its basal cell. Lateral conjugation takes
place between two cells placed immediately next to the basal cell. One cell swells known as the
female cell and the other cell becomes conical known as male cell. The male gamete passes
through the septum piercing it. The nuclei are fused forming the diploid zygospore.
(ii) Scalariform conjugation:
The scalariform conjugation takes place between the cells takes place between the cells of two
different filaments, therefore, the speceies are heterothallic. In this case, two physiologically
different filaments lie parallel to each other. Then two outgrowths arise which are called

conjugation tube. Further growth of the conjugation tube pushes the filaments apart.
Later the conjugation tube dissolves forming a passage. Simultaneously the protoplasm
of the conjugated cells contracts and forms gametes. The male gamete moves through
the conjugation tube into the female cell of another filament. Fusion of two nuclei
results in formation of diploid zygospore. After the formation of zygospore the cell of
male filament becomes empty while the cells of the female filament are filled with
zygospore.

Zygospore - The mature zygospore has three layered walls. These zygospores are
liberated by the death and decay of the female cell wall. Zygospore germinates during
favourable condition. Each zygospore nucleus divides meiotically to produce four
haploid of which three degenerate and only one remains functional. On germination, the
zygospore gives rise to a single haploid filament. In this way, the life cycle is completed.