The multicellular green alga Enteromorpha (Ulvales, Chlorophyta) includes some economically valuable species cultivated as "Aonori" (green laver) in Japan. The life cycle of the genus Enteromorpha consists of gametophytic and sporophytic foliaceous thalli, which are indistinguishable in appearance. Both male and female gametes of E. compressa can grow parthenogenetically and can be cloned into ...

The plant action potential (AP) has been studied for more than half a century. The experimental system was provided mainly by the large charophyte cells, which allowed insertion of early large electrodes, manipulation of cell compartments, and inside and outside media. These early experiments were inspired by the Hodgkin and Huxley (HH) work on the squid axon and its voltage clamp techniques. L...

A commentary on Plant auxin biosynthesis did not originate in charophytes The TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF ARABIDOPSIS (TAA) family of aminotransferases and the YUCCA (YUC) family of flavin monooxygenases are required for the biosynthesis of auxin (Mashiguchi et al., 2011). However, the origin of TAA-YUC auxin biosynthesis pathway is under hot debate recently (Wang et al., 2014; Yue et al., 2...

Inhibition of phytoplankton by allelochemicals released by submerged macrophytes is supposed to be one of the mechanisms that contribute to the stabilisation of clear-water states in shallow lakes. The relevance of this process at ecosystem level, however, is debated because in situ evidence is difficult to achieve. Our literature review indicates that allelopathically active species such as My...

The morphology of characean algae could be mistaken for a higher plant: stem-like axes with leaf-like branchlets anchored in the soil by root-like rhizoids. However, all of these structures are made up of giant multinucleate cells separated by multicellular nodal complexes. The excised internodal cells survive long enough for the nodes to give rise to new thallus. The size of the internodes and...

The use of chemical pesticides and herbicides has increased environmental pollution and affected ichthyofauna in the watersheds where they are used. We studied the effect of an herbicide, triazine, on the kidneys of two species (Caquetaia kraussii and Colossomna macropomum) widely found in Caribbean and South American rivers. In Venezuela, these species are abundant and have a high aquaculture ...