Year: 2015

Ectocarpus is a marine alga. The thallus is heterotrichous. It consists of a prostrate rhizoidal system and an erect branched system . The main pigment is xanthophyll. The cytoplasm contains polyphenol containing vacuoles called physodes. The asexual reproduction occurs by the formation of zoospores in two types of sporangia called unilocular sporangia and plurilocular sporangia. The sexual reproduction occurs by isogamy , morphological anisogamy and physiological anisogamy. In physiological anisogamy the male gametes are more active than the female gamete. Ectocarpus is a brown alga and shows Isomorphic alternation of generation.