Asterochloris

Asterochloris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Clade: Viridiplantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Trebouxiophyceae
Order: Trebouxiales
Family: Trebouxiaceae
Genus: Asterochloris
Tscherm.-Woess, 1980
Type species
Asterochloris phycobiontica
Tscherm.-Woess, 1980

Asterochloris is a genus of green algae in the family Trebouxiophyceae. It is a common photobiont in lichen, occurring in the thalli of more than 20 lichen genera worldwide. Asterochloris is distinguishable from the morphologically similar genus Trebouxia, primarily due to its deeply lobed chloroplast, the placement of the chloroplast along the cell's periphery before the initiation of zoospore or aplanospore formation, and its tendency to primarily reproduce asexually through the production of aplanospores.