''Carteria'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
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 ...
in the family
Chlamydomonadaceae
Chlamydomonadaceae is a family of algae within the order Chlamydomonadales. Traditionally, it has been defined as containing single-celled flagellates with a cell wall.
Cells of the Chlamydomonadaceae are motile and have one, two, or four flag ...
. ''Carteria'' are similar in morphology to the common genus ''
Chlamydomonas
''Chlamydomonas'' ( ) is a genus of green algae consisting of about 150 species of unicellular organism, unicellular flagellates, found in stagnant water and on damp soil, in freshwater, seawater, and even in snow as "snow algae". ''Chlamydom ...
'' and differ by having four, rather than two, flagella at the vegetative stage.
The genus name of ''Carteria'' is in honour of
Henry John Carter
Henry John Carter, FRS (18 August 1813 – 4 May 1895) was a surgeon working in Bombay, India, who carried out work in geology, paleontology, and zoology. He worked as an army surgeon in Bombay from 1859 on Her Majesty's Indian Service, Bom ...
, (1813–1895), who was a surgeon working in Bombay, India, who carried out work in geology,
paleontology
Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...
, and
zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
.
The genus was
circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle.
* Circum ...
by
Karl Moritz Diesing in Sitzungsber. Kaiserl. Akad. Wiss., Wien, Math.-Nat. Cl., Abt.
Vol.1 Issue 52 on page 356 in 1866.
Description
''Carteria'' is a single-celled organism. The cell is surrounded by a conspicuous wall which is often differentiated into a papilla at the anterior of the cell. There are four
flagella
A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...
, inserted at the location of the papilla, with a cruciate arrangement. 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 ...
. Pyrenoids are present, with one or several. There are often two
contractile vacuole
A contractile vacuole (CV) is a sub-cellular structure (organelle) involved in osmoregulation. It is found predominantly in protists, including unicellular algae. It was previously known as pulsatile or pulsating vacuole.
Overview
The contrac ...
s per cell.
Asexual reproduction occurs via
zoospore
A zoospore is a motile asexual spore that uses a flagellum for locomotion in aqueous or moist environments. Also called a swarm spore, these spores are created by some protists, bacteria, and fungi to propagate themselves. Certain zoospores are ...
formation within the parent cell wall.
[ The mode of sexual reproduction varies within ''Carteria'': some species are ]isogamous
Isogamy is a form of sexual reproduction that involves gametes of the same morphology (indistinguishable in shape and size), and is found in most unicellular eukaryotes. Because both gametes look alike, they generally cannot be classified as ma ...
, while '' Carteria obtusa'' is anisogamous
Different forms of anisogamy: A) anisogamy of motile cells, B) 283x283px
Anisogamy is a form of sexual reproduction">egg cell">oogamy (egg cell and sperm cell), C) anisogamy of non-motile cells (egg cell and spermatia).">283x283px
Anisogamy is ...
.[
]
Taxonomy
Over seventy species of ''Carteria'' have been described from freshwater and terrestrial habitats.[ The chloroplast shape is species-specific and provides the basis for classification.][ Based on the ]ultrastructure
Ultrastructure (or ultra-structure) is the architecture of cells and biomaterials that is visible at higher magnifications than found on a standard optical light microscope. This traditionally meant the resolution and magnification range of a c ...
of the flagellar basal bodies
A basal body (synonymous with basal granule, kinetosome, and in older cytological literature with blepharoplast) is a protein structure found at the base of a eukaryotic undulipodium (cilium or flagellum). The basal body was named by Theodor ...
, Lembi et al. divided ''Carteria'' into two groups. Group I contains spherical cells with flagellar bodies oriented in a cross. Group II contains ellipsoidal cells with flagellar bodies oriented in a four-armed spiral.monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
group.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1045892
Chlamydomonadales genera
Chlamydomonadaceae
Freshwater algae