Rhodelphis

Rhodelphis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Clade: Archaeplastida
Phylum: Rhodelphidia
Tikhonenkov, Gawryluk, Mylnikov & Keeling, 2019
Class: Rhodelphea
Tikhonenkov, Gawryluk, Mylnikov & Keeling, 2019
Order: Rhodelphida
Tikhonenkov, Gawryluk, Mylnikov & Keeling, 2019
Family: Rhodelphidae
Tikhonenkov, Gawryluk, Mylnikov & Keeling, 2019
Genus: Rhodelphis
Tikhonenkov, Gawryluk, Mylnikov & Keeling, 2019[1]
Species[2]

Rhodelphis is a single-celled archaeplastid that lives in aquatic environments and is the sister group to red algae and possibly Picozoa. While red algae have no flagellated stages and are generally photoautotrophic, Rhodelphis is a flagellated predator containing a non-photosynthetic plastid.[1] This group is important to the understanding of plastid evolution because they provide insight into the morphology and biochemistry of early archaeplastids. Rhodelphis contains a remnant plastid that is not capable of photosynthesis, but may play a role in biochemical pathways in the cell like heme synthesis and iron-sulfur clustering.[1] The plastid does not have a genome, but genes are targeted to it from the nucleus.[1] Rhodelphis is ovoid with a tapered anterior end bearing two perpendicularly-oriented flagella.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e Gawryluk, Ryan M. R.; Tikhonenkov, Denis V.; Hehenberger, Elisabeth; Husnik, Filip; Mylnikov, Alexander P.; Keeling, Patrick J. (August 2019). "Non-photosynthetic predators are sister to red algae". Nature. 572 (7768): 240–243. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1398-6. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 31316212. S2CID 197542583.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rhodelphis mylnikovi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).