Oscillatoria: Vegetative Body and Reproduction | Algae | Botany

In this article we will discuss about the vegetative body and reproduction of oscillatoria.

Vegetative Body of Oscillatoria (Fig. 105):

The thallus is an unbranched, cylindri­cal, narrow or broad filament, entirely with­out or with barely perceptible watery, hyaline and mucilaginous sheath. Each fila­ment consists of a single row of cells in the form of short cylinders, which may even be shorter than they are wide.

The terminal cell is usually convex or rounded at its free end, but in some cases it may taper to a point. In some species, the free outer wall of the apical cell may be thickened to form a definite calyptra. The cell structure is more or less similar to those of other Myxo­phyceae.

Reproduction in Oscillatoria:

Oscillatoria reproduces only by the vege­tative method. Reproduction by the forma­tion of zoospores or by gametes is unknown. Each filament does not grow indefinitely in length, but regularly breaks up into short fragments, called hormogones, each contain­ing 2, 3 or several cells.

Before separation, the hormogones are delimited in the filament by the formation of double concave disks (separation disks) of gelatinous consistency between the hormogones. Each hormogone may develop into a new filament by division.

The most characteristic feature of Oscillatoria is the fact that the filaments, particularly the hormogones, are capable of swaying or oscillating movements to which the plant owes its name.