Euglenid

Euglenid
Temporal range: Middle Ordovician–Present[1][2]
Euglena viridis, by Ehrenberg
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Discoba
Superphylum: Discicristata
Phylum: Euglenozoa
Class: Euglenida
Butschli 1884, emend. Simpson 1997
Major groups
Synonyms
  • Euglenoidina Bütschli, 1884, Blochmann, 1886
  • Euglenoidea Lankester, 1885
  • Euglenoida Cavalier-Smith, 1993

Euglenids or euglenoids are one of the best-known groups of eukaryotic flagellates: single-celled organisms with flagella, or whip-like tails. They are classified in the phylum Euglenophyta, class Euglenida or Euglenoidea. Euglenids are commonly found in fresh water, especially when it is rich in organic materials, but they have a few marine and endosymbiotic members. Many euglenids feed by phagocytosis, or strictly by diffusion. A monophyletic subgroup known as Euglenophyceae have chloroplasts and produce their own food through photosynthesis.[3][4][5] This group contains the carbohydrate paramylon.

Euglenids split from other Euglenozoa (a larger group of flagellates) more than a billion years ago. The plastids (membranous organelles) in all extant photosynthetic species result from secondary endosymbiosis between a euglenid and a green alga.[6]

  1. ^ Gray, Jane; Boucot, A. J. (1989). "Is Moyeria a euglenoid?". Lethaia. 22 (4): 447–456. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1989.tb01449.x.
  2. ^ Strother, Paul K.; Taylor, Wilson A.; van de Schootbrugge, Bas; Leander, Brian S.; Wellman, Charles H. (2020). "Pellicle ultrastructure demonstrates that Moyeria is a fossil euglenid". Palynology. 44 (3): 461–471. doi:10.1080/01916122.2019.1625457.
  3. ^ Karnkowska, Anna; Bennett, Matthew S.; Triemer, Richard E. (2018). "Dynamic evolution of inverted repeats in Euglenophyta plastid genomes". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 16071. Bibcode:2018NatSR...816071K. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34457-w. PMC 6207741. PMID 30375469.
  4. ^ Yoshihisa Hirakawa (2017). Secondary Endosymbioses. Academic Press. p. 323. ISBN 9780128026809.
  5. ^ "Algaebase :: Subclass: Euglenophycidae". Archived from the original on 2020-07-13. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  6. ^ Zakryś, B; Milanowski, R; Karnkowska, A (2017). "Evolutionary Origin of Euglena". Euglena: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Vol. 979. pp. 3–17. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54910-1_1. ISBN 978-3-319-54908-8. PMID 28429314.