Spirogyra like glass artwork

The sample was observed immediately after being collected from a paddy field.

Spirogyra is a green alga that is composed of long, transparent cells connected end to end. The chloroplast inside the cell looks like a green ribbon. As the organism is almost still, it is easy to photograph.

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
This organism is Spirogyra.

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Im.....

In this video, one band-shaped (ribbon-like) chloroplast shows 5.5 coils inside one large cylindrical cell that is 50~60μm wide. To identify Spirogyra to the species level, it is necessary to observe several features that appear during conjugation, such as how it develops the conjugation tube, the shape and surface appearance of conjugation tube etc..

These features are not visible in this video, so we cannot determine which species of Spirogyra this organism is.

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Im.....

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Im.....

Sampling Date : 18 July 2006

Sampling Site : KASHIMADAI paddy field  Google Map