Prochlorophyta is a group ofphotosyntheticbacteria, an important component ofpicoplankton.^[1] These oligotrophic organisms are abundant in nutrient poor tropical waters and use a unique photosynthetic pigment, divinyl-chlorophyll, to absorb light and acquire energy.^[1][2][3] Prochlorophyta lack red and bluephycobilin pigments and have stacked thylakoids, making them distinctly different fromCyanobacteria (or Cyanophyta),^[2] but some authors consider them as part of the Cyanobacteria, as the groupProchlorales.

This unique group ofphytoplankton, with nophycobilin pigments, were initially found in 1975 near theGreat Barrier Reef^[4] and off the coast of Mexico (Prochloron).^[5] Prochlorophyta was soon assigned as a new algal sub-class in 1976 byRalph A. Lewin of theScripps Institution of Oceanography.^[6][7] Other phytoplankton that lackedphycobilin pigments were later found in freshwater lakes in the Netherlands by Tineke Burger-Wiersma and colleagues^[8] and were termedProchlorothrix (additional reading onProchlorothrix can be found in a journal article by A.V. Pinevich^[9] ). In 1986Prochlorococcus was found bySallie W. (Penny) Chisholm and colleagues.^[10]Prochlorococcus may be responsible for a significant portion of the global primary production.

Prochlorophytes are very small microbes generally between 0.2 and 2 μm (photosynthetic picoplankton). They morphologically resembleCyanobacteria (formerly known asBlue Green Algae). Members of Prochlorophyta have been found as coccoid (spherical) (Coccus) shaped, as inProchlorococcus, and as filaments, as inProchlorothrix.

• Cyanobacteria
• Prochloron
• Prochlorococcus
• Photosynthetic picoplankton

• Prochlorophytes

• Cyanobacteria

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