The phycology or algology is the scientific discipline that studies algae, focusing mainly on the study of their photosynthetic mechanisms, toxin production, industrial products and systematic.
Algae are a polyphyletic group (without a common ancestor) of photosynthetic organisms with a presence in the cell wall. This group includes unicellular individuals (cyanobacteria or blue-green algae) and as multicellular. Likewise, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells are included..
The ficology began in ancient Greece, with the works of Theophrastus and Dioscorides. For a long time, algae were considered to be plants, which is why they were mainly studied by botanists.
Linnaeus was the first to use the name alga to define this group of organisms, although he also included some bryophytes. However, it is in the nineteenth century when ficology takes hold as a discipline, as the structure of algae is better known.
During these years, great ficologists, such as Stackhouse, Lamouroux and Kützing, made important contributions in the biology and classification of algae. His works were based mainly on the study of the anatomy and life cycle of these organisms..
Among the study areas of phycology, the research on "red tides", caused by the exponential growth of microalgae, stands out. These organisms produce toxins that poison fish and shellfish, negatively affecting the fishing industry and public health..
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Coastal human civilizations developed an important link with algae. The Mapuches in Chile include algae in their mythological symbolism. For their part, the Chinese are the first to leave written references about these organisms..
Phycology or algology, as a science, has its origin mainly in Western culture and its development is linked to the history of botany. We can recognize four phases within its historical evolution.
The first to use the term phykos (marine plants) to refer to algae were the Greeks Theophrastus and Dioscorides. Later, from this Greek name the Roman term derived Fucus, used to name these organisms.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, not many studies were carried out in the field of ficology. The Czech botanist Von Zalusian (1592) included algae along with fungi, lichens and sea herbs in the group Musci. Von Zakusian considered these groups as "Ruda et Confusa" (difficult and confusing), due to the difficulty in classifying them.
Another botanist who made contributions at the beginning of ficology was Gaspar Bauhin, in his work Prodromus theatri botany (1620). The author classified different groups of plants as algae, such as mosses and horsetails (Equisetum).
In the year 1711, the French Ferchault de Reaumur described the sexual structures of a species of alga. This was an important contribution to algology, although botanists such as Samuel Gottlieb continued to consider that algae reproduced by parthenogenesis.
Linnaeus included algae within cryptogams (seedless plants) in his sexual classification system (1735). Later, in 1753 he described the genus Fucus, and there the group began to have a better definition.
The use of better optical microscopes generated great advances in phycology. It was in this period that most of the main groups of algae, as they are known today, were defined..
The first to clearly demonstrate the sexuality of algae was the Swiss Pierre Vaucher in his work Histoire des conferves de'eau douce (1803). From this work, algae are recognized as a group and algology begins to consolidate.
It is considered that the Englishman John Stackhouse transformed ficology into a scientific discipline. In 1801, Stackhouse studied the germination of the zygote of species of Fucus and determined that they belonged to different genders.
Subsequently, the French botanist Jean Lamouroux proposed a classification system for algae in 1813. In his works, he described a large number of species and defined three large groups (red, brown and green algae).
Among the great ficologists of the time, the Swedish C.A. Agardh and his son J.G. Agardh, who studied the morphology of algae. J.G. Agardh proposed a classification of marine algae based on their anatomical characteristics.
Another prominent algologist was the German Friedrich Kützing, who published numerous treatises on ficology in which he described various species. In his research, he mainly took into account the anatomy of these organisms.
For most of this period, phycology was considered a branch of botany and algae were included in the Thallophyta (Plantae) division. The life cycles of many species were also studied, which allowed the different groups to be more clearly defined..
The Italian ficologist Giovanni de Toni worked for 35 years on his work Saddle Algarin, which was published in 1924. This work collects all the knowledge on the systematics of algae that existed to date.
In addition, marine ficology was born, specializing in the study of algae present in seas and oceans. During this period, expeditions to different coasts of the world began to classify these organisms..
In the 50s (20th century) there was a great advance in phycology, thanks to the development of scanning and transmission electron microscopes. This made it possible to study aspects of the physiology, cell biology and ecology of the different groups of algae..
In the 1970s, the systematic approach to ficology changed, due to the use of molecular techniques. It was possible to determine that algae are a polyphyletic group (they do not share a common ancestor). Thus, cyanobacteria were located within bacteria and the other groups of algae in the Protista Kingdom..
Currently, ficology is a consolidated discipline and there are numerous researchers in its different fields of study.
Phycology is the discipline that is dedicated to the study of algae. It does not refer only to a taxonomic category (due to the origin of this group), but it is still used for practical purposes.
Within algae, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells are found, most of which photosynthesize. In the eukaryotic group, algae are talophytes (plants with thallus) whose primary photosynthetic pigment is chlorophyll to.
Phycology studies the morphological and anatomical characteristics of the different groups of algae. In addition, it addresses research on the evolutionary processes of these organisms, including various aspects such as the evolution of the chloroplast and that of photosynthetic mechanisms..
In the field of physiology and biochemistry, phycologists have devoted themselves to the study of the so-called “red tides”. This refers to the exponential growth of certain microalgae that produce phycotoxins, which are toxic organisms for marine fauna and humans..
Within algology, the knowledge of the role of algae in the ecosystems where they are found is contemplated. This subject is of great importance for science, since these organisms are the main oxygen producers on the planet..
On the other hand, algae are useful for humans as food and as a basis for the production of industrial products. Therefore, phycology also studies potentially useful species, as well as the most efficient ways of using algae..
Phycology as a discipline encompasses various areas of interest to researchers. Currently, those related to its physiology, toxin production, industrial products and systematic stand out..
It has been suggested that the chloroplasts of algae evolved from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. Research in this field focuses on the information transport mechanisms that control the division and metabolism of chloroplasts..
During 2017, a study was carried out in cyanobacteria and other groups of algae. Through this, the mechanisms of oxygen use were investigated, since excesses of this element can cause oxidative damage in cells.
The results of this study show that an enzyme is activated in cyanobacteria that protects the cell from high light intensities. In other species, biochemical strategies were observed that make cells insensitive to excess Otwo.
The production of phycotoxins can produce the so-called "red tides", which generate a great ecological and economic impact. This is why phycology has focused on the study of these compounds..
Various investigations have been carried out to determine how these phycotoxins act in different organisms, including humans. In 2018, Spanish researchers reviewed the toxins produced by microalgae and the mechanisms of action and symptoms they produce in humans.
Phycology, in recent years, has devoted attention to the field of biofuels. Numerous investigations are being carried out in biological and applied aspects of algae that can be potentially usable.
A review of the prospects for the use of algae as biofuels (carried out in 2017) indicates that the main action challenges are in the technological area. Mainly, they are focused on achieving the production of a high biomass, as well as achieving adequate growing conditions.
Some genera of algae such as Cladophora (green algae) and Fucus (red algae) are tolerant to heavy metals. In this sense, studies are being carried out to determine the amount of metals that these organisms can contain.
From the information obtained, simulation models have been established on the behavior of contamination by heavy metals in bodies of water..
Phycology has attached great importance to the systematic study of algae. This field has focused primarily on studying the relationship of algae to each other and their effect on other organisms..
In this sense, molecular techniques have been very important in defining these relationships between organisms..
Recently, the glacial algae of Greenland, located within the group of Chlorophytas (green algae), were studied. It was proven that these are the algae most related to plants and that their ecology can help to better understand the plant colonization of the terrestrial environment.
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