Dimorphococcus
Genus of algae
Dimorphococcus is a genus of fresh water green algae in the family Scenedesmaceae. It is found as a component of the phytoplankton of freshwater ponds, lakes, and peat bogs. It is widespread, but usually not very common.
Dimorphococcus is usually found in small colonies of multiples of four cells, surrounded by a gelatinous mass. Groups of four cells are further attached to each other via mucilaginous strands, which are the remnants of the mother cell wall. Cells are kidney-shaped to heart-shaped, 10-25 μm long and 3-8(-15) μm wide. Each cell is uninucleate (containing one nucleus) and has one parietal chloroplast each with one or more pyrenoids.
Dimorphococcus reproduces asexually via autospores, with four spores produced per mother cell. Autospores are released through a lateral tear in the mother cell wall. After release, the empty cell wall gradually dissolves.
01Taxonomy
Currently, Dimorphococcus is placed in the family Scenedesmaceae, according to molecular phylogenetic analyses.
One species, Dimorphococcus fritschii, is of uncertain status. The phycologist Chin Chih Jao considered it to have a different structure than other species of Dimorphococcus; accordingly, he placed it into a new genus, Dimorphococcopsis. The species has not been re-investigated and it is possible that the original placement was correct.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Dimorphococcus”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Medeiros et al 2021 Dimorphococcus lunatus.jpg by Yara Medeiros, Camila Akemy Nabeshima Aquino, Jascieli Carla Bortolini, Gabriela Medeiros, Mailor Wellinton Wedig Amaral, Cinthia Coutinho Rosa Favaretto & Norma Catarina Bueno, CC BY 4.0
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