COMMENT ON VAUCHERIA
Habit
Vaucheria is a terrestrial species found in damp soil, and mud as yellowish green patches.
Vegetative Structure
Siphoneous type :-
The vegetative body is branched, coenocytic, un-septate tubular filament with a finger like anchoring tubules called hepteron. Its siphoneous nature shows a multinucleated condition without a partition wall in a characteristic feature.
Cellular Structure
Coenocytic cell :-
The filament has a thin cell wall composed of Cellulose and pectose. The central portion is occupied by a central vacuole filled with cell sap. The central remote extends throughout the length of the plant. The space between vacuole and cell wall is filled with moderately thick peripheral Cytoplasmic film. Numerous discoid chloroplasts devoid of pyrenoid are embedded towards the wall side and numerous minute nuclei and oil droplets at the vacuolar side. The chloroplasts are small and circular in outline.
Sexual reproductive structure:
Oogamous :- Vaucheria is homothallic and reproduction is oogamous, taking place with the formation of antheridia and oogonia.
Antheridium:
It is a slender distal slightly curved tube separated from the rest of the body by septum formation. It produces many Spindle-shaped minute antherozoids or sperms having two unequal flagella inserted laterally but directed oppositely. It has an apical pore for the release of antherozoids.
Oogonium:
It develops on some filament near the antheridium. It is a short stalked large globular structure with the colourless beak at the upper end, it is separated from the rest of the body by septum at the base oogonium. It bears a large uninucleated egg cell or oosphere.
