Dr Dipti Chourasia

Algae
 Are a large, heterogeneous and polyphyletic group of
simple plants referred to as thallophytes
Characteristics
 Eukaryotic
 Photosynthetic
 Mostly uniellular
 Single celled (euglenoids, dinoflagellates, diatoms)
 Multicellular (red, brown algae) under plantae
 Both uni- and multicellular green algae
 Vegetative Structures of multicellular
algae
 Thallus/Frond: Body. Lacks
conductive tissue.
 Holdfast: Anchor alga to rock.

 Stipes: Hollow, stem-like

structures. Does not support
weight.
 Blades: Leaf-like structures.

 Pneumatocyst/gas bladder:
Floating, gas-filled bladder.
Classification
 Kingdom
 Phylum or Division
 Class
 Order
 Family
 Genus ( 1st name)
 Species ( 2nd name identifier)

Remember: King Philip Came Over For Good

Spaghetti
Classification of algae
 Based on:
 Colour
 Type of chlorophyll
 Food storage substance
 Cell wall composition
Green algae

Yellow-
Green algae

Diatoms

Chlamydomonas Tribonema Diatoms

Brown
algae

Red algae

Blue-green

Blue green algae

Pyrrophyceae (Dinoflagellates)
 Unicellular free-floating algae.
 Rigid structure due to cellulose in plasma membrane.
 Most are photosynthetic, some mixotrophic
 Some endosymbionts , others parasitic
 produce characteristic lipids and sterols

Algal bloom (akasio) by

Noctiluca spp. in Nagasaki
Long exposure image of bioluminescence of N. scintillans in the yacht port
of Zeebrugge, Belgium
Beneficial features
 80% of the earth’s oxygen is believed to be produced by
planktonic algae.
 Algal blooms are indicators of water pollution
 Petroleum and natural gas reserves were formed primarily
from diatoms and plankton
 Biofuel: fast growing, no competition with agriculture
 Consume CO2
 Can be used as feed, food (e.g. Spirulina: source of dietary
protein, vit. B complex and iron)
 Can be grown on sea
 Can purify wastewater
 Used in lubricants, fertilizers, cosmetics
Harmful effects: Pathogenic
 Prototheca: a colourless Chlorella like organism,
superficially resembles yeast
 Found in systemic and subcutaneous infections
 Also cause bursitis (inflammation of the joints)
Other diseases
 Typically caused by the consumption of contaminated seafood
products.
 Paralytic shellfish poisoning
 Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning
 Amnesic shellfish poisoning
 Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning
 Ciguatera fish poisoning

 Consumption of clams and mussels that have eaten

dinoflagellates (Gonyaulax) that produce toxin, leading to food
poisoning.
 Ciguatera toxin is a heat-stable lipid soluble compound, produced
by dinoflagellates and concentrated in fish organs
 Fungi
 Eukaryotes, uni or multicellular
 Separate from plant or animals due to the presence of
Chitin & glucan in their cell wall Mushroom

 Do not photosynthesize
 Are heterotrophic
 Are principal decomposers
 Three main types of fungi
Yeast
 Mushrooms
 Yeasts (reproduce by budding or fission)
 Molds
 Fungal infections are called mycoses
 Over 100,000 fungal species identified.
 Only about 100 are human or animal pathogens. mold
(Deuteromycetes)
Phylum Example Figure Key features

Ascomycota Yeasts, truffles Develop by sexual means,

ascospores formed inside ascus,
asexual reproduction also
common

Imperfect fungi Aspergillus, Sexual reproduction absent,

(Deuteromycetes) Penicillium thought to be like ascomycetes
that have lost their ability to
reproduce asexually

Basidiomycota Mushrooms, Develop by sexual means,

toadstools, basidiospores borne on club
rusts shaped basidia, terminal
hyphae which produces spores
is called basidium, asexual
reproduction occurs
occasionally

Zygomycota Rhizopus Develop sexually & asexually,

multinucleate hyphae lack
septa (except reproductive
structures); fusion of hyphae
leads to formation of zygote, in
which meiosis occurs just
before it germinates
Nutritional Adaptations Of Fungi
• Fungi absorb their food, rather than ingesting it.
• Fungi grow better at a pH of 5, which is too acidic for most
bacteria.
• Almost all molds are aerobic. Most yeasts are facultative
anaerobes.
• Fungi are more resistant to high osmotic pressure than
bacteria.
• Fungi can grow on substances with very low moisture.
• Fungi require less nitrogen than bacteria to grow.
• Fungi can break down complex carbohydrates (wood, paper),
that most bacteria cannot.
Fungal Diseases
Mycosis: Any fungal disease. Tend to be chronic because fungi
grow slowly.
Mycoses are classified into the following categories:
I. Systemic mycoses: Fungal infections deep within the body.
Can affect a number of tissues and organs.
 Usually caused by fungi that live in the soil and are inhaled.
Not contagious.
 Examples:
 Histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum): Initial infection in lungs.
Later spreads through blood to most organs.
 Coccidiomycosis (Coccidioides immites): Resembles tuberculosis.
 Systemic Mycosis: Histoplasmosis

Disseminated Histoplasma capsulatum, lung infection.

Source: Microbiology Perspectives, 1999.
Fungal Diseases
II. Cutaneous mycoses: Fungal infections of the skin, hair, and
nails.
 Secrete keratinase, an enzyme that degrades keratin.
 Infection is transmitted by direct contact or contact with
infected hair (hair salon) or cells (nail files, shower floors).
 Examples:
 Ringworm (Tinea capitis and T. corporis)
 Athlete’s foot (Tinea pedis)
 Jock itch (Tinea cruris)
 Cutaneous Mycosis

Ringworm skin infection: Tinea corporis

Source: Microbiology Perspectives, 1999
 Cutaneous Mycosis

Candida albicans infection of the nails.

Source: Microbiology Perspectives, 1999.
Fungal Diseases
III. Subcutaneous mycoses: Fungal infections beneath the skin.
 Caused by saprophytic fungi that live in soil or on vegetation.
 Infection occurs by implantation of spores or mycelial
fragments into a skin wound.
 Can spread to lymph vessels.

IV. Superficial mycoses: Infections of hair shafts and superficial

epidermal cells. Prevalent in tropical climates.
Fungal Diseases
Opportunistic mycoses: Caused by organisms that are
generally harmless unless individual has weakened defenses:
 AIDS and cancer patients
 Individuals treated with broad spectrum antibiotics
 Very old or very young individuals (newborns).
 Examples:
 Aspergillosis: Inhalation of Aspergillus spores.
 Yeast Infections or Candidiasis: Caused mainly by Candida albicans.
Part of normal mouth, esophagus, and vaginal flora.
Economic Importance Of Fungi
 25-50% of harvested fruits and vegetables are damaged by fungi.
 Fungal infections of plants are commonly called rots, rusts,
blights, wilts, and smuts.
 Phytophthora infestans: Caused great potato famine in mid-1800s. Over 1
million people died from starvation in Ireland. Many immigrated to the
U.S.

 Beneficial fungi:
 Candida oleophila: Prevents fungal growth on harvested fruits.
 Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Used to make bread and wine.
 Genetically engineered yeast strains are used to make proteins (Hepatitis B
vaccine).
 Taxomyces: Produces anticancer drug taxol.
 Trichoderma: Produces cellulase. Used to make fruit juice.
Protozoa
Protozoa
 Microscopic, unicellular , 3-2000 m
 Protozoan means “first animal”.
 non-photosynthetic protists
 Lack cell wall
 Have at least one motile stage in their life cycle
 45,000 species, about 8000 are parasitic.
 Most are free-living organisms that inhabit water and
soil. Some live in association with other organisms as
parasites or symbionts.
Reproduction
 Reproduce asexually by fission, budding, or
schizogony (multiple fission).
 Some exhibit sexual reproduction (e.g.: Paramecium).

 Trophozoite: Vegetative stage which feeds upon

bacteria and particulate nutrients.
 Cyst: Some protozoa produce a protective capsule
under adverse conditions (toxins, scarce water, food,
or oxygen).
Trophozoite & cyst
 Asexual Reproduction

Amoeba

Flagellate
Ciliate

Kingdom Protozoa 34
Classification
Classification
Sarcomastigophora Apicomplexa Ciliophora

Mastigophora Sporozoa Suctoria

Sarcodina Peritrichia

Holotrichia

Spirotrichia
 Sarcomastigophora
1. Mastigophora subphylum having flagellum

 Phytomastigophora
 phototrophic flagellates
 can loose chloroplasts
 e.g. Euglena, Peranema
 Zoomastigophora
 animal-like flagellates

 e.g. Bodo, Oikomonas

 some parasitic e.g.

Giardia,
Trypanosoma
2. Sarcodina subphylum having pseudopoda
 Rhizopoda
 move by pseudopodia

 Naked - Amoeba, Entamoeba*

 Testate - Arcella

 Actinopoda
 planktonic
 Radiolaria

 radial axopoda, siliceous skeleton.

Apicomplexa
 Sporozoa
 simple , resistant spores and oocysts
 parasitic
 e.g.
 Cryptosporidium
 Plasmodium
(malaria)
 Toxoplasma

Plasmodium falciparum merozoite

Ciliophora
1. Suctoria
 Predatory on other protozoa, sessile.
 no cilia, but have tentacles.
 e.g. Acineta,
Podophyra Acineta

2. Peritrichia
 Sessile, usually stalked.
 Bell-shaped pellicle, some have lorica
(shell like outer covering).
 Cilia bands.
 e.g. Vorticella
Carchesium
Opercularia Vorticella
 Paramecium

3.Holotrichia
 free-swimming
 body covered in cilia
 some predatory
 e.g. Paramecium
Chilodonella
Colpidium

4.Spirotrichia
 cilia in rows, sheets, tufts, - i.e. Cirri
 Crawl on surfaces
 e.g. Aspidisca
Euplotes
Aspidisca
Protozoan diseases
Helminths
Helminths
 Free living or Parasitic worms
 Multicellular Eukaryotes
 Characterized by their ability to feed and live on living
hosts
 Are separated according to their general external
shape and the host organ they inhabit
 Both hermaphroditic and bisexual species
Major groups of helminths
 platyhelminths (flatworms)
 trematodes (flukes)
 cestodes (tapeworms)
 nematodes (roundworms)
 Trematodes (Flukes)
 Unsegmented body

 Adult flukes are leaf-shaped

flatworms.
 Lack a body cavity and have a
tegument for body covering.
 Digestive tube ends in the cecum

 Prominent oral and ventral suckers

help maintain position in situ.
 Flukes are hermaphroditic except
for blood flukes, which are bisexual.
 The life-cycle includes a snail
intermediate host.
 Cestodes (Tapeworms)
 Segmented body
 Lack a body cavity and have a
tegument body covering
 Lack a digestive tube
 They utilize suckers or
bothridia, and rostellum with
hooks for an attachment organ
 Adult tapeworms are
elongated, segmented,
hermaphroditic flatworms that
inhabit the intestinal lumen
 Larval forms, which are cystic
or solid, inhabit extraintestinal
tissues
 Nematodes (roundworms)
 Cylindrical body shape
 have a body cavity.
 Body covering is a cuticle
 Digestive tube ends in the anus.
 The sex of nematodes is dioecious (distinct male and female
organisms).
 Their attachment organs range from lips, teeth, filariform
extremities and dentary plates
Human diseases
1. Ascariasis: Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm)
2. Ancylostomiasis: Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator
americanus (hook worms)
3. Enterobiasis : Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm)
4. Trichuriasis: Trichuris trichura (whip worm)
5. Trichinosis: Trichinella spiralis
6. Strongyloidiasis: Strongyloides stercoralis (thread
worm)
7. Filariasis or Elephantiasis: Wuchereria bancrofti