Melosira

Melosira
Melosira moniliformis attached to a green plant.
Systematics
without rank: Stramenopiles (stramenopiles) without rank: Diatomea Class : Coscinodiscophyceae Order : Melosirales Family : Melosiraceae Genre : Melosira
Scientific name
Melosira
C. Agardh

Melosira moniliformis

Melosira (Greek melos limb and seira cord, thread; i.e.limbthread) is a genus of diatoms (Bacillariophyta) with around 30 species that occur in fresh and seawater.

features

Melosira is a centric diatom. It forms unbranched, single-row threads. The individual cells have the typical diatom shell consisting of two counters. This is rectangular or round in the side view and circular in the shell view. The cells contain many disc-shaped or somewhat irregularly shaped plastids that are colored golden brown by fucoxanthin . The cells are 8 to 80 micrometers in diameter.

Asexual reproduction occurs through the typical division of diatoms into two parts, which leads to the reduction of the cells. This will lengthen the threads. Sexual reproduction occurs through the oogamy characteristic of centric diatoms . After this, the cells spread in the course of the auxospore formation. The formation of permanent cells directly from vegetative cells is also known.

Occurrence

Melosira occurs in the plankton and in the sediment of standing and flowing waters, but also in brackish and sea water.

Due to the chain formation, the habitat of the free water can be better populated than with individually living species. By making more economical use of the limited available surfaces, they evade the pressure of competition.

Web links

Commons : Melosira  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Melosira on algaebase.org

literature

• Karl-Heinz Linne von Berg, Michael Melkonian u. a .: The Kosmos algae guide. The most important freshwater algae under the microscope. Kosmos, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-440-09719-6 , p. 246.