''Tetradesmus obliquus'' is a

green algae The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...

species of the family

Scenedesmaceae Scenedesmaceae is a family of green algae in the order Sphaeropleales. ''Scenedesmus'' algae are commonly found in freshwater plankton. The former family Coelastraceae is considered a synonym of Scenedesmaceae. The family has existed since at ...

. It is commonly known by its synonym, ''Scenedesmus obliquus''. It is a common species found in a variety of freshwater habitats. ''Tetradesmus obliquus'' forms colonies of two or four (occasionally eight) cells in a single row; in culture, solitary cells are often present. Cells are spindle-shaped, (4–)6–15(–25) μm long and 2.2–9.6(–11) μm wide; cells taper to acute apices and are sometimes slightly asymmetrical. Cells contain a single

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...

filling the cell, with a

pyrenoid Pyrenoids are sub-cellular phase-separated micro-compartments found in chloroplasts of many algae,Giordano, M., Beardall, J., & Raven, J. A. (2005). CO2 concentrating mechanisms in algae: mechanisms, environmental modulation, and evolution. ''An ...

present in the center. This chlorophyte species is notable for the genetic coding of its

mitochondria A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is us ...

which translate TCA as a

stop codon In molecular biology, a stop codon (or termination codon) is a codon (nucleotide triplet within messenger RNA) that signals the termination of the translation process of the current protein. Most codons in messenger RNA correspond to the additio ...

and TAG as

leucine Leucine (symbol Leu or L) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Leucine is an α-amino acid, meaning it contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH3+ form under biological conditions), an α-Car ...

. This code is represented by

NCBI The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The NCBI is loca ...

translation table 22, ''Scenedesmus obliquus'' mitochondrial code. There is increasing interest in ''T. obliquus'' for uses in

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

, such as

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

production,

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

, and wastewater treatment. Both growth and

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

of ''T. obliquus'' are affected by the presence of nano-sized

microplastics Microplastics are "synthetic solid particles or polymeric matrices, with regular or irregular shape and with size ranging from 1 μm to 5 mm, of either primary or secondary manufacturing origin, which are insoluble in water." Microplastics a ...

, such as nano-

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It i ...

(nano-PS).

References

Sphaeropleales Chlorophyta species {{Chlorophyceae-stub

See also

References