Difference Between Cyanobacteria and Green Algae
Cyanobacteria and Green Algae are both organisms which are found in aquatic habitat. They grow from the evolution of algae. They are known as photosynthetic organisms. Green Algae contains chloroplast, which is why it is termed Green Algae. Cyanobacteria undergo nitrogen fixation and have more nutrients than algae.
Cyanobacteria vs Green Algae
The main difference between Cyanobacteria vs Green Algae is Cyanobacteria are prokaryotes, and Green Algae are eukaryotes. Green algae contain chloroplast, but Cyanobacteria does not contain chloroplast. Green algae do not undergo nitrogen fixation, but Cyanobacteria undergo nitrogen fixation. Green Algae is not capable of storing nutrients, but Cyanobacteria is enough and sufficient to store nutrients.
Cyanobacteria are prokaryotes. It does not contain chloroplast, which is why it is not green in color. Some cyanobacteria are heterotrophs. They are mainly found in aquatic habitats. It is capable of storing nutrients. It undergoes nitrogen fixation. It does not undergo sexual reproduction.
Green Algae are Eukaryotes. They contain chloroplast, which leads to green color in them. It is surrounded by membrane-bound organelles. It is found mainly in freshwater habitats. It forms gametes by sexually reproduce. Chlorella and Spirogyra are some examples of Green Algae. It is capable of swimming.
Comparison Table Between Cyanobacteria and Green Algae
| Parameter of Comparison | Cyanobacteria | Green Algae |
| Type of Organism | Prokaryotes | Eukaryotes |
| Membrane-Bound Organelles | Yes | No |
| Chloroplast | No | Contains one or more chloroplast |
| Nitrogen Fixation | It undergoes | It does not undergo |
| Swim | No | Yes |
| Reproduction | Asexual | Sexual, Asexual |
What are Cyanobacteria?
It is a photosynthetic bacteria. It has some pigments which undergo nitrogen fixation. It can be found in freshwater habitats. It can also be found in soil. It is either unicellular or multicellular. They are spherical. It forms sheet-like colonies when observed. It does not contain flagella. It has a gliding movement. It also contains phycocyanin, phycoerythrin, and chlorophyll which are termed photosynthetic pigments.
These pigments have different colors. Phycoerythrin is red, and Phycocyanin is blue. It has vacuoles inside them. It is a prokaryotic organism. Some Cyanobacteria are heterotrophs. Cyanobacteria are not capable of swimming in water. They can change their depth in water. It does not undergo any sexual reproduction.
It has no memory-bound organelles. It is capable of producing its food. It has a high capability to store nutrients in them. It does not undergo sexual reproduction. It lives symbiotically. It can be found in terrestrial habitats. It stores its food as starch.
The gliding behavior in them occurs due to changes in the trichome which changes the depth of the organism inside water. It undergoes asexual reproduction. Cell division and formation of the plate in the organism lead to asexual reproduction.
What is Green Algae?
This is a photosynthetic organism. It has chlorophyll present in it, which makes it green in color. It also contains another pigment like beta-carotene and xanthophyll. The nucleus contains the genetic material of the Green Algae. It is found in freshwater habitats. It has cells in it which can contain more than one chloroplast. It also cooks its food.
The food is stored as starch or fats. Chloroplast contains photosynthetic pigment. It has a large cell. It is either uninucleated or multinucleated. It is a eukaryotic organism. It contains memory-bound organisms. It undergoes asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is done through either fission, budding, fragmentation.
It can also undergo asexual reproduction by the formation of zoospores. It undergoes sexual reproduction by the formation of gametes, either same size gametes or male or female gametes. It lives symbiotically. Vacuoles are present in the organism. There is no nitrogen fixation in the organism. It can very easily swim in the water.
It consists of membrane-bound organelles. It contains more than one cell, which contains chloroplast. It does not contain any nutrients because it has no stability to contain nutrients. It undergoes sexual reproduction by the formation of gametes. Some examples are Ulva and Spirogyra.
Main Differences Between Cyanobacteria and Green Algae
Conclusion
Cyanobacteria and Algae are both photosynthetic organisms. It cooks its food. It has storage units in which form it stores its food. The nutrient level is different in them as Green Algae can stay in the water, but Cyanobacteria cannot swim in the water and hence contains a different level of nutrients in them.
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic-bacteria prokaryotes. Cyanobacteria are not capable of swimming in water. They can change their depth in water. There are no memory-bound organelles in cyanobacteria. Some Cyanobacteria are heterotrophs. It is capable of producing its food.
Cyanobacteria have a high capability to store nutrients in them. It does not undergo sexual reproduction. It lives symbiotically. Cyanobacteria do not contain chloroplast, but Green Algae has one or more chloroplast per cell. Green Algae are photosynthetic organisms in Eukaryotes.
The nucleus contains the genetic material of the Green Algae. Vacuoles are present in the organism. There is no nitrogen fixation in the organism.
There is asexual reproduction in Green Algae. It does not contain any nutrients because it has no stability to contain nutrients. It forms sheet-like colonies when observed. It does not contain flagella.
It has a gliding movement. The asexual reproduction in Green Algae is done through either fission, budding, fragmentation. It can also undergo asexual reproduction by the formation of zoospores. Both of the organism has its way of reproduction.
References
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