Prochlorophyta

Prochlorophyta
Scientific classification
Domain:
Bacteria
Phylum:
Cyanobacteria
Order:
Prochlorales

Lewin, 1977
Synonyms
  • Prochlorophyta Lewin, 1976
  • Prochlorophyceae Lewin, 1977
  • Prochloraceae Lewin, 1977
  • Chloroxybacteria Margulis & Schwartz, 1982

Prochlorophyta is a group of photosynthetic bacteria, an important component of picoplankton.[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 blue phycobilin pigments and have stacked thylakoids, making them distinctly different from Cyanobacteria (or Cyanophyta),[2] but some authors consider them as part of the Cyanobacteria, as the group Prochlorales.

  1. ^ a b Miller, Charles B. (2004). Biological Oceanography. Wiley-Blackwell.
  2. ^ a b Lewin, Ralph A. (2002). "Prochlorophyta - a matter of class distinctions". Photosynthesis Research. 73: 59–61. doi:10.1023/A:1020400327040. PMID 16245104.
  3. ^ Partensky, Frederic; Nicolas Hoepffner; William K.W. Li; Osvaldo Ulloa; Daniel Vaulot (1993). "Photoacclimation of Prochlorococcus sp. (Prochlorophyta) Strains Isolated from the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea". Plant Physiol. 101: 285–296. doi:10.1104/pp.101.1.285. PMC 158675. PMID 12231684.