Uronema (green alga)
Genus of algae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uronema is a genus of green algae, the sole genus in the family Uronemataceae. It is a benthic or epiphytic alga with a cosmopolitan distribution.[1] Filaments of Uronema can occasionally be found in the plankton when they get detached.[2]
Caisová, Pérez Reyes, Cruz Álamo, Martel Quintana, Surek & Melkonian
| Uronema | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Chlorophyceae |
| Order: | Chaetophorales |
| Family: | Uronemataceae Caisová, Pérez Reyes, Cruz Álamo, Martel Quintana, Surek & Melkonian |
| Genus: | Uronema Lagerheim, 1887 |
| Type species | |
| Uronema confervicola | |
| Species[1] | |
| |
Uronema is a freshwater alga. Two marine species formerly considered to be in this genus have been transferred to Okellya.[3]
Description
Uronema consists of unbranched, uniseriate filaments. Filaments are attached to a substrate via gelatinous holdfast, called a "dermoid", secreted by a slightly tapered basal cell. Cells are cylindrical, elongate; the apical cell is pointed. The cell wall is thin and not lamellate. The chloroplast is single, parietal, lobed, encircling most or all of the cell lumen; it typically contains at least one pyrenoid (usually four).[1]
Asexual reproduction occurs via quadriflagellate zoospores or aplanospores. Zoospores are pyriform to ovoid, with a single cup-shaped chloroplast and a stigma.[1]
Uronema is similar to Ulothrix[2] and sometimes considered to be part of the genus;[1] however, it differs by being attached to a substrate and having filaments ending in an acuminate tip.[4] Molecular studies have confirmed its placement in the order Chaetophorales.[5]
