Gloeochaete
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gloeochaete is a rare genus of algae, containing the sole species Gloeochaete wittrockiana.[1] It is found in freshwater habitats, where it grows attached to other algae and aquatic plants. It has a cosmopolitan distribution.[2]
| Gloeochaete | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Archaeplastida |
| Division: | Glaucophyta |
| Class: | Glaucophyceae |
| Order: | Gloeochaetales |
| Family: | Gloeochaetaceae |
| Genus: | Gloeochaete Lagerheim |
| Species: | G. wittrockiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Gloeochaete wittrockiana Lagerheim[1] | |
Taxonomy
The genus Gloeochaete was described in 1883 by Gustaf Lagerheim, growing on various Oedogonium in Uppsala, Sweden.[3] The name derives from the Greek gloia ("glue") and chaitê ("hair").[4]
At first, Lagerheim placed the genus was placed in the cyanobacteria family Chroococcaceae, based on its similarity to cyanobacterial genera such as Chroococcus and Gloeocapsa.[3][4] Later, it was placed in the family Tetrasporaceae, under the guise that it was a colorless Tetraspora-like organism with an endosymbiotic cyanobacteria-like organism.[5] Currently, Gloeochaete is considered part of the glaucophyte algae (Glaucophyta), a small but evolutionarily significant group of algae. Together with land plants, green algae, and red algae, they form the clade Archaeplastida, and are important to studying its evolutionary history.[6]
Description
Gloeochaete wittrockiana grows attached to aquatic algae and plants, such as Sphagnum. It consists of single cells or colonies of two, four or eight cells, which are embedded in a layer of mucilage. Each cell has one or two long, gelatinous hairs (variously termed pseudocilia or setae).[2][6] Within each cell, there are a number of sausage-shaped blue-green plastids (also known as cyanelles).[2]
Genome
The plastid DNA of Gloeochaete wittrockiana consists of a simple circular loop that is 143,343 base pairs long. It is relatively conserved with respect to other glaucophyte plastids.[7] Similarly, the mitochondrial DNA of G. wittrockiana is highly conserved and is 36,046 base pairs long.[8]