| Zoochlorella | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification (obsolete) | |
| Clade: | Viridiplantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Trebouxiophyceae |
| Order: | Chlorellales |
| Family: | Chlorellaceae |
| Genus: | Zoochlorella K.Brandt, 1881,nom. rejic. |
Zoochlorella (pl.:zoochlorellae) is a colloquial term for anygreen algae that livessymbiotically within the body of an aquaticinvertebrate animal or aprotozoan.[1]
Zoochlorellae are various genera belonging to the classesChlorophyceae andTrebouxiophyceae,[1] historically treated as a single genusZoochlorella due to their similar appearance to the genusChlorella.[2] However, this genus was found to bepolyphyletic throughmolecular phylogeny, and currently considerednomen rejiciendum. As a consequence, the two species belonging to this obsolete genus have been transferred to different green algal genera.[1]
The analogy between zoochlorellae andchloroplasts was used by the botanistKonstantin Mereschkowski in 1905 to argue about the symbiotic origin of chloroplasts (then called 'chromatophores', a term used for completely different structures today).[3]
Zoochlorellae are responsible for thegreenish colour ofsea anemonetentacles. Zoochlorellae andzooxanthellae may both be found in the Pacific coast sea anemonesAnthopleura elegantissima andAnthopleura xanthogrammica.
Four species of distantly relatedtestate amoebae have independently evolved into obligatemixotrophy through the acquisition of zoochlorellae:Hyalosphenia papilio andHeleopera sphagni, two lobose amoebae belonging to the orderArcellinida within the phylumAmoebozoa;Archerella flavum, a member of theLabyrinthulomycetes inStramenopiles; andPlacocista spinosa, a filose amoeba belonging to the orderEuglyphida within the phylumCercozoa.[4]
Variousciliates present zoochlorellae, such as the generaParamecium,Stentor,Climacostomum,Coleps andEuplotes.[1]
In thecentrohelidAcanthocystis turfacea lives a unique zoochlorella species known asChlorella heliozoae.[1]
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