Question

Give the main characters of dinoflagellates.

Answer 1

Hint:-The word dinoflagellates is derived from the Greek and Latin languages. The Greek word (δῖνος) dinos which means "whirling" and the Latin flagellum which means “whip, scourge” make the term dinoflagellates together. Thus, the meaning of the term dinoflagellates is single- celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata. In general, the dinoflagellates are considered to be algae. They are mostly marine plankton; however, they also are commonly available in freshwater habitats.

Complete step-by-step solution:-
- The following are the main characters of Dinoflagellates:
- The Dinoflagellates are basically said to be unicellular motile and biflagellate, golden brown,
photosynthetic protists.
- The golden yellow is their predominant colour, however, yellow, green, brown and even
blue forms also arise because of the change in the proportion of various pigments.
- The theca or lorica is the name given to the rigid coat which covers the cells of articulated
and sculptured plates of cellulose.
- One of the two flagella is transverse flagellum and other longitudinal flagella. Thus, two
flagella are different, it is an example of heterokont. The mesokaryon is the name given to the
nucleus since it is large in size.
- The chlorophyll a and chlorophyll c are present as Plastids or chromatophores of the cell.
- The characteristic of bioluminescence is shown by few marine dinoflagellates such as
Noctiluca.

Note:- The factors like sea surface temperature, salinity, or depth can determine the distribution of dinoflagellates throughout the water. Normally most of the dinoflagellates are said to be photosynthetic in nature. On the other hand, a large fraction of these are in fact mixotrophic in nature. That means they combine their ability to undergo the process of the photosynthesis along with ingestion of prey (this process is called phagotrophy and myzocytosis).