Cyanobacteria and Green Algae are both organisms which are found in aquatic habitat. They grow from the evolution of algae. They are known as photosynthetic organisms.
Key Takeaways
- Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic organisms that can carry out photosynthesis, while green algae are eukaryotic organisms capable of photosynthesis.
- Cyanobacteria are commonly found in freshwater and marine environments, while green algae are found in a wider range of habitats, including freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments.
- Cyanobacteria can often harm other organisms due to their ability to produce toxins, while green algae are generally not harmful to other organisms.
Cyanobacteria vs Green Algae
The difference between Cyanobacteria vs Green Algae is Cyanobacteria are prokaryotes, and Green Algae are eukaryotes. Green algae contain chloroplast, but Cyanobacteria does not contain chloroplast. Green algae do not undergo nitrogen fixation, but Cyanobacteria undergo nitrogen fixation. Green Algae is not capable of storing nutrients, but Cyanobacteria is enough and sufficient to store nutrients.
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Cyanobacteria are prokaryotes. It does not contain chloroplast, which is why it is not green in color. Some cyanobacteria are heterotrophs. They are mainly found in aquatic habitats.
Green Algae are Eukaryotes. They contain chloroplast, which leads to green color in them. It is surrounded by membrane-bound organelles.
Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Cyanobacteria | Green Algae |
|---|---|---|
| Type of Organism | Prokaryotes | Eukaryotes |
| Membrane-Bound Organelles | Yes | No |
| Chloroplast | No | Contains one or more chloroplast |
| Nitrogen Fixation | It undergoes | It does not undergo |
| Swim | No | Yes |
| Reproduction | Asexual | Sexual, Asexual |
What are Cyanobacteria?
It is a photosynthetic bacteria. It has some pigments which undergo nitrogen fixation. It can be found in freshwater habitats. It can also be found in soil. It is either unicellular or multicellular.
These pigments have different colors. Phycoerythrin is red, and Phycocyanin is blue. It has vacuoles inside them. It is a prokaryotic organism. Some Cyanobacteria are heterotrophs.
It has no memory-bound organelles. It is capable of producing its food. It has a high capability to store nutrients in them. It does not undergo sexual reproduction. It lives symbiotically.
The gliding behavior in them occurs due to changes in the trichome which changes the depth of the organism inside water. It undergoes asexual reproduction.
What is Green Algae?
This is a photosynthetic organism. It has chlorophyll present in it, which makes it green in color. It also contains another pigment like beta-carotene and xanthophyll.
The food is stored as starch or fats. Chloroplast contains photosynthetic pigment. It has a large cell. It is either uninucleated or multinucleated.
It can also undergo asexual reproduction by the formation of zoospores. It undergoes sexual reproduction by the formation of gametes, either same size gametes or male or female gametes.
It consists of membrane-bound organelles. It contains more than one cell, which contains chloroplast. It does not contain any nutrients because it has no stability to contain nutrients.
Main Differences Between Cyanobacteria and Green Algae
- Cyanobacteria cannot swim in the water, but Green Algae can swim in the water.
- Cyanobacteria do not sexually reproduce, but Green Algae sexually reproduce.
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-3855-3_1
- https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.3732/ajb.91.10.1535
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
