Algae do battle with bioweaponry. (Environment).Beneath the frozen surface of Sweden's lakes, algae algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes (plants that wage wars over nutrients. One combatant apparently prevails by releasing chemicals toxic to its adversaries, according to a new study. Researchers already have found evidence in ocean settings that dinoflagellates--a class of single-celled, photosynthesizing algae--produce toxins that they use for fending off predators. In the December 2001 Limnology limnology Subdiscipline of hydrology that concerns the study of fresh waters, specifically lakes and ponds (both natural and manmade), including their biological, physical, and chemical aspects. and Oceanography oceanography, study of the seas and oceans. The major divisions of oceanography include the geological study of the ocean floor (see plate tectonics) and features; physical oceanography, which is concerned with the physical attributes of the ocean water, such as , Karin Rengefors of Lund University and Catherine Legrand of the University of Kalmar The University of Kalmar is focused on undergraduate and professional education in a variety of fields, including science, technology, social science, health studies, and business studies. , both in Sweden, report that the freshwater dinoflagellate dinoflagellate Any of numerous one-celled, aquatic organisms that have two dissimilar flagella and characteristics of both plants (algae) and animals (protozoans). Most are microscopic and marine. Peridinium aciculiferum also produces at least one toxin. In contrast to its marine counterparts, P. aciculiferum uses the agent offensively. The researchers explored the toxin's function by exposing several organisms to it. Crustaceans that prey on the species were unaffected, but the toxin ruptured and killed Rhodomonas lacustris, another freshwater dinoflagellate common in Sweden. P. aciculiferum may unleash its biological poison to vie for scarce resources such as phosphorus, says Rengefors. --B.H. |
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