Chlorococcaceae | |
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Ambystoma maculatum egg mass at the University of Mississippi Field Station. Symbiotic Oophila amblystomatis algae (green) is visible surrounding each developing larva. | |
Scientific classification | |
Clade: | Viridiplantae |
Division: | Chlorophyta |
Class: | Chlorophyceae |
Order: | Chlamydomonadales |
Family: | Chlorococcaceae Blackman & Tansley, 1902 |
Genera[1] | |
See text. |
Chlorococcaceae is a family of green algae, in the order Chlamydomonadales.[1] They are mostly soil-dwelling algae.[2] Many members of this group produce lipids and secondary carotenoids.[2]
The Chlorococcaceae consists mostly of coccoid (single, nonmotile) cells with one parietal or central chloroplast and one or multiple nuclei. The chloroplast contains a single pyrenoid surrounded by a starch envelope. The cell envelope may thicken with age and develop into a mucilaginous stalk in some species.[2] Reproduction consists of zoospores with a cell wall; after they stop swimming, the zoospores retain their shape.[2]
The family Chlorococcaceae is currently under taxonomic revision. Currently, the type genus Chlorococcum is polyphyletic and the status of its type species, Chlorococcum infusionum, is unclear.[2]