Pteromonas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pteromonas | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Chlorophyceae |
| Order: | Chlamydomonadales |
| Family: | Phacotaceae |
| Genus: | Pteromonas Seligo |
| Type species | |
| Pteromonas aculeata Seligo[1] | |
| Species | |
Pteromonas is a genus of green algae in the family Phacotaceae.[2] It has a cosmopolitan distribution,[1] and mainly occurs in nutrient-rich freshwaters.[3]
Pteromonas is a unicellular, motile organism with two flagella; the protoplast of the cell is contained in a transparent,[4] flattened shell called a lorica. The two flagella emerge from separate openings in the anterior of the lorica. The lorica consists of two equal parts pressed together at their margins, forming a keel. The lorica is variously shaped, and may be undulate or spiny. The protoplast is pyriform, ovoid or globose and compressed. Cells contain a cup-shaped chloroplast with one or more pyrenoids and usually an stigma. Two contractile vacuoles are present at the base of the flagella. [1]
Asexual reproduction involves the division of the protoplast into two or four daughter cells, which are released when the two halves of the lorica separate. Sexual reproduction is isogamous; the two gametes fuse and develop into a globose zygote with a smooth cell wall.[1]
Species are distinguished based on the general morphology (size, shape and placement of "wings") of the lorica, and number and position of pyrenoids.[1]
