Syllabus
1) General introduction. Cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria as the ancestors of plant plastids, oxygenic photosynthesis, assimilation pigments. Occurrence in nature, importance, classification. Cyanobacterial water blooms and their ecological significance.
2) Plants (Archaeplastida, Plantae) – definition, important structural features. Glaucophyta. Rhodoplantae (red algae). Important joint features (cell walls, absence of the flagellar stages, storage compounds). Cyanidiophyta: Unicellular red algae with plesiomorphic features, occurrence in extreme habitats. Rhodophyta: classes Rhodellophyceae, Stylonematophyceae, Porphyridiophyceae, Compsopogonophyceae and core rhodophytes – Bangiophyceae and Florideophyceae. Morphology, life cycle, diversity, ecological and economical importance.
3) Viridiplantae (green plants). Key structural features, phylogenetic structure. Lineage Chlorophyta. "Prasinophyte" flagellates (Nephroselmidophyceae, Mamiellophyceae, Prasinophyceae, Pedinophyceae, Chlorodendrophyceae). Class Trebouxiophyceae - lichen photobionts (Trebouxiales), terrestrial and freshwater algae. Biotechnological, pharmaceutical and industrial use. Class Chlorophyceae - morphology, diversity, distribution, biotechnology. Class Ulvophyceae – marine benthic macroalgae and a terrestrial lineage Trentepohliales.
4) Viridiplantae – lineage Streptophyta. Evolution of traits connected with successful colonization of land by higher plants. Classes Mesostigmatophyceae, Chlorokybophyceae, Klebsormidiophyceae, Coleochaetophyceae, Charophyceae, Zygnematophyceae. Charophyceae – complex thallus morphology, life cycle, ecology. Zygnematphyceae - defining features (isogamy, conjugation, absence of flagellate stages). Distribution in natural ecosystems (peatlands, oligotrophic wetlands), biomonitoring of the ecological status.
5) Bryophyta (phylogenetic group bryophytes). Phylogeny, characteristics, life cycles. Sexual and asexual reproduction. Differences in life cycle of hepatics, hornworts and mosses. Anthocerotophyta (hornworts). Characteristics, diversity. Ephemerous species. Marchantiophyta (hepatics). Characteristics, diversity. Jungermanniopsida, Marchantiopsida - frondose and foliose types, examples of thallus types, silica vesicles.
6) Marchantiophyta - important examples of species. Bryophyta (mosses) - characteristics of the group, important features. Main groups and characteristic biotopes - moorlands, diversity, examples. Polytrichopsida, Andraeopsida, Bryopsida - diversity, examples. Important communities of the bryophytes - extreme dry conditions, stress adaptations to dryness. Water bryophytes. Use of the bryophytes, bioindication.
7) Lichenes (lichens). Ecological characteristics. Morphology and anatomy of lichens. Mycobionts - Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, differences in life cycles. Photobionts, main groups - overview. Phylogenetic structure, fossils. Physiology of lichens - reviviscence, continual metabolism, etc. Substrate specificity, epiphytes, terricolous, saxicolous species. Secondary metabolites.
8) Lichenes - classification and phylogeny. Ascomycota: Chaetothyriomycetes (Verrucariales) diversity and main genera, endolithic lichens. Acarosporomycetidae (Rhizocarpaceae, etc.) - thallus specifications (areoles), saxicolous species, acidic rock communities. Lecanoromycetes: Cladoniaceae - boreal forests, tundra. Peltigerares, Parmeliaceae, etc. - mesophilous macrolichens, more photobionts. Collemataceae - cyanolichens. Basidiomycota - Agaricales: basidiolichens. Lichens uses.
9) Eukaryotic lineages with secondary (tertiary) plastids. Secondary rhodoplasts. Dinoflagellates. Haptophyta and their role in global biogeochemical cycles. Cryptophyta – freshwater and marine phytoplankton.
10) Stramenopiles – general characteristics, phylogenetic structure. Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) - morphological structure, ontogeny, phylogeny. Diversity of important planktonic and benthic diatom genera, distribution in natural habitats, European monitoring schemes of the environmental status of freshwater habitats. Chrysophyceae (golden algae). Dictyochophyceae. Xanthophyceae, Eustigmatophyceae.
11) Phaeophyceae (seaweeds). Phylogenetic structure, life cycle characteristics (diversity of the sexual reproduction). Diversity and survey of the important genera. Secondary green plastids. Chlorarachniophyta, Euglenophyta. Independent primary endosymbiosis – genus Paulinella.
Annotation
This is an introductory course on diversity, distribution and phylogeny of the so called non-vascular plants which is a traditional polyphyletic group comprising algae, lichens and bryophytes. We will focus on general characteristics of individual taxonomic groups, their morphology, life cycles, evolution and ecology. The diversity overview is concentrated on ecologically important representatives of the natural ecosystems and on economically important taxa.
Presentations in PDF will be uploaded to SIS (see the section "Files" on the subject’s page) after individual lectures.