Home / Chlorophyceae / Unicells / Non-flagellated / Zoochlorella
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Name derivation:
Zoo- animal [protest] + chlor green _ ella diminutive refers to small green bodies within a protest.
Classification:
Zoochlorella K. Brandt 1881; 1 of 3 species descriptioins is currently accepted taxonomically (Guiry and Guiry 2013). Order Chlorellales; Family Chlorellaceae
Morphology:
Unicell. Vividly green.
imilar genera:
Habitat:
Freshwater and marine habitats, often found symbiotically within protozoans or invertebrates. When endobiotic they often color the host green. Common examples are species of ciliates, hydras, sponges and anemone. In the 1850s - 1880s the question both of origin and relationship to the host was actively pursued. Were they capable of free living similar to Chlorella, and therefore able to be cultured free from their host? In some tests they were not, in others they were successfully cultured, certainly by Loefer (1936). Were Zoochlorella in ‘infection’ and thus a parasite, or were they ‘symbionts’ – a term defined by DeBary (1879). Recent molecular evidence provides convincing evidence that multiple symbiotic events or multiple unflagellated green unicells have occurred. More than one green species can occur even within the same host cell (Proschold et al. 2011). Furthermore, of 17 isolates from various hosts, endobionts belonged to eight independent species from six different genera of green algae (Ibid.), so Zoochlorella is not a useful generic name except for historic reasons.
References:
Brandt, K. 1881 . Über das Zusammenleben von Thieren und Algen. Verh. Physiologischer Ges. 1881-1882: 22-26. DeBary, A. 1879. Die Erscheinung der Symbiose. Strasburg: Verlag von Karl J. Trubner. Guiry, M.D. and G.M. Guiry 2013. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 15 October 2012. Loefer, J.B. 1936. Isolation and growth characteristics of the “Zoochlorella” of Paramecium bursaria. The American Naturalist 70(727):184-188 Pröschold, T., T. Darienko, P.C. Silva, W. Reisser and L. Krienitz 2011. The systematic of Zoochlorella revisited employing an integrative approach. Environmental Microbiology 13(2):350-364. Secord, D. and Augustine, L. (2000), Biogeography and microhabitat variation in temperate algal-invertebrate symbioses: zooxanthellae and zoochlorellae in two Pacific intertidal sea anemones, Anthopleura elegantissima and A. xanthogrammica. Invertebrate Biology, 119: 139–146. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7410.2000.tb00002.