Pseudotrebouxia P.A.Archibald, 1975 (split generally considered incorrect)
Trebouxia is a unicellular green alga.[1] It is a photosynthetic organism that can exist in almost all habitats found in polar, tropical, and temperate regions.[2][3][4][5][6] It can either exist in a symbiotic relationship with fungi in the form of lichen or it can survive independently as a free-living organism alone or in colonies.[7]Trebouxia is the most common photobiont in extant lichens.[8] It is a primary producer of marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems.[3] It uses carotenoids and chlorophyll a and b to harvest energy from the sun and provide nutrients to various animals and insects.[2][4]
An ancestor of Trebouxia may have introduced photosynthesis into terrestrial habitats approximately 450 million years ago.[9] It is also a bioindicator of habitat disturbances, freshwater quality, air pollution, carbon dioxide concentration, and climate change.[10][11] Furthermore, its life cycle is complex and much research needs to be done to characterize it more completely.[12][13][14][15][1][5] For decades, the presence of sexual reproduction was unknown.[16] However, recent (2000s) molecular evidence of recombination and the observation of sexual fusions of gametes to form zygotes suggest that sexual reproduction occurs.[5]
Trebouxia (as circumscribed in 1994) is a paraphyletic group;[17] the issue was resolved by moving some members to Asterochloris.[18]Horizontal gene transfer of protein encoding genes between fungi and Trebouxia is known to have occurred.[19][5] There is also evidence of intronhorizontal gene transfer among different strains of Trebouxia in lichen thalli.[5] The presence of globose cells in fossil lichens from the Lower Devonian period (415 million years ago) that look similar to Trebouxia indicate the significance of Trebouxia-like fungal symbiosis throughout the terrestrial history of Earth.[8]
^ abErokhina, L. G., Shatilovich, A. V., Kaminskaya, O. P., & Gilichinskii, D. A. (2004). Spectral Properties of the Green Alga Trebouxia, a Phycobiont of Cryptoendolithic Lichens in the Antarctic Dry Valley. Microbiology,73(4), 420-424. doi:10.1023/b:mici.0000036987.18559
^ abLukesova, A., & Frouz, J. (2007). Soil and Freshwater Micro-Algae as a Food Source for Invertebrates in Extreme Environments. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology Algae and Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments,265-284. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6112-7_14
^ abSeckbach, J. (2007). Algae and cyanobacteria in extreme environments. Dordrecht: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6112-7
^ abcdeSeckbach, J. (2002). Symbiosis: Mechanisms and model systems. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
^John, D. M., Whitton, B. A., & Brook, A. J. (2002). The freshwater algal flora of the British Isles: An identification guide to freshwater and terrestrial algae. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
^Bubrick, P., Galun, M., & Frensdorff, A. (1984). Observations On Free-Living Trebouxia De Puymalyand Pseudotrebouxia Archibald, And Evidence That Both Symbionts From Xanthoria Parietina (L.) Th. Fr. Can Be Found Free-Living In Nature. New Phytologist,97(3), 455-462. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.1984.tb03611.x
^Horwath, W. R. (2017). The Role of the Soil Microbial Biomass in Cycling Nutrients. In T. K. Russel (Author), Microbial Biomass: A Paradigm Shift In Terrestrial Biogeochemistry(pp. 1-348). World Scientific. doi:10.1142/q0038
^Ahmadjian, V. (1960). Some New and Interesting Species of Trebouxia, a Genus of Lichenized Algae. American Journal of Botany,47(8), 677. doi:10.2307/2439519
^Friedl, T. (1993). New Aspects of the Reproduction by Autospores in the Lichen Alga Trebouxia (Microthamniales, Chlorophyta). Archiv Für Protistenkunde,143(1-3), 153-161. doi:10.1016/s0003-9365(11)80284-8
^Melkonian, M., & Peveling, E. (1987). Zoospore ultrastructure in species ofTrebouxia and Pseudotrebouxia (Chlorophyta). Plant Systematics and Evolution,158(2-4), 183-210. doi:10.1007/bf00936344
^Sanders, W. B. (2005). Observing microscopic phases of lichen life cycles on transparent substrata placed in situ. The Lichenologist,37(05), 373-382. doi:10.1017/s0024282905015070
^Kroken, S., & Taylor, J. W. (2000). Phylogenetic Species, Reproductive Mode, and Specificity of the Green Alga Trebouxia Forming Lichens with the Fungal GenusLetharia. The Bryologist,103(4), 645-660. [[doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2000)103[0645:psrmas]2.0.co;2]]
^Friedl, Thomas; Zeltner, Cornelia (June 1994). "Assessing The Relationships Of Some Coccoid Green Lichen Algae And The Microthamniales (Chlorophyta) With 18S Ribosomal RNA GENE SEQUENCE COMPARISONS 1". Journal of Phycology. 30 (3): 500–506. Bibcode:1994JPcgy..30..500F. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3646.1994.00500.x. S2CID83976513.
^Beck, A., Divakar, P. K., Zhang, N., Molina, M. C., & Struwe, L. (2014). Evidence of ancient horizontal gene transfer between fungi and the terrestrial alga Trebouxia. Organisms Diversity & Evolution,15(2), 235-248. doi:10.1007/s13127-014-0199-x