| UWA Home | IBS Home | Alvin Jones home | IBS:- Current Undergraduates | IBS:-Course Documents |
The classification of life- 5 kingdoms or 3 domains? Prokaryotes and eukaryotes
OUTLINE OF TOPICS TO BE COVERED
Lecture 1
1. DEFINITIONS, FEATURES USED IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF ALGAE INTO PHYLA.
Lecture 2& 3
2. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE mass culture, food products, toxins etc.
Lecture 4-6
3. PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROKARYOTES:
a) A COMPARATIVE ACCOUNT OF THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC APPARATUS OF THE OXYGENIC CYANOBACTERIA AND THE ANOXYGENIC PHOTOSYNTHETIC BACTERIA in brief outline only.
b) CYANOBACTERIA:- other aspects of cell ultrastructure, morphology, growth and reproduction, nitrogen fixation and the heterocyst.
Lectures 6 &7
4. PHOTOSYNTHETIC EUKARYOTES:
a) MORPHOLOGY
b) CELL STRUCTURE -mainly will concentrate on chloroplast structure, some reference to nuclei and cell walls.
c) REPRODUCTION -Asexual and sexual methods.
Lecture 8
5. INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER ORGANISMS :- Lichen symbiosis
THESE TOPICS WILL BE COVERED, IN THE ORDER ABOVE, IN THE LECTURES IN THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC MICRO-ORGANISMS SECTION OF THE MICROBIAL DIVERSITY COURSE. . SOME BROAD TOPICS WILL RUN OVER MORE THAN ONE LECTURE BUT WILL NOT DEVIATE FROM THE PATTERN ABOVE. A MORE DETAILED BREAKDOWN IS GIVEN BELOW
YOU WILL OBTAIN AN INTRODUCTORY AND OUTLINE KNOWLEDGE OF THE FOLLOWING POINTS
Lecture 1
1. A formal definition of an "alga" and the limitations of this in respect to prokaryotes and the 5 Kingdoms concepts.
2. The major criteria used in grouping "algae" into phyla and/or classes
3. An appreciation of the ecological/environmental importance of Phytoplankton populations particularly in the oceans.
Lecture 2 -3
4. The utilisation of seaweed products in food and pharmaceutical products, as fodder.
5. Microalgae mass culture for food and sewage treatment.
6. Eutrophication and the problems caused by algal and cyanobacterial toxins.
Lecture 3-5
7. Definitions of anoxygenic and oxygenic photosynthesis, the groups of prokaryotes carrying out these processes and the intracellular location of the photosynthetic apparatus in these bacteria and cyanobacteria.
8. The ultrastructure of cyanobacterial cell walls and cells; the heterocyst-structure and function i.e. nitrogen fixation; gas vacuoles-structure and function; growth, reproduction and evidence for genetic recombination in cyanobacteria.
Lecture 6-7
9. Eukaryotic microalgae:-range of morphological types, e.g. motile unicells, non-motile unicells, colonies, aggregations, branched and unbranched filaments, coenocytes etc.
10. Eukaryotic cell ultrastructure:- here the photosynthetic structures viz. chloroplasts will be emphasised and you will know how the photosynthetic membranes (thylakoids) are arranged in the different algal groups, how the chloroplast envelope (see chloroplast endoplasmic reticulum in your notes) varies, the structure and function of pyrenoids and eyespots. Only passing and brief reference will have been made to general aspects of eukaryotic cell structure not peculiar to the algae except for the nuclei. Here you should know how the dinoflagellate nucleus differs from those in other groups and how aspects of microtubule arrangement during mitosis/cytokinesis have been given taxonomic significance in the green algae.
11. The types of asexual reproduction found in the algae and the various spores involved.
12.The types of sexual reproduction and their definition. How algal gametes associate and are attracted to each other; how they recognise and agglutinate (in Chlamydomonas) with the appropriate partner prior to sexual fusion.
13. The different types of life history (cycle) found in algae.
Lecture 8
14. Interactions with other organisms Lichens:- the various types of lichen thallus, the nature of the symbiotic association, the types of physical contact between the partners, the transfer of carbon from the alga to the fungus and its possible control, the benefits, if any, conferred on the alga by the fungus.
Thus the main theme is to emphasise the diversity of form and function in these micro-organisms particularly where their photosynthetic nature distinguishes them from other groups.
| UWA Home | IBS Home | Alvin Jones home | IBS:- Current Undergraduates | IBS:-Course Documents |