''Lobocharacium'' 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
Characiosiphonaceae
The Characiosiphonaceae are a family of algae in the order Chlamydomonadales. Two genera are included in this family, '' Characiosiphon'' and '' Lobocharacium'', each containing a single species. The genus '' Characiochloris'' may eventually be p ...
. It contains the single species ''Lobocharacium coloradoense''.
It has been isolated from a pond in
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, United States.
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Description
''Lobocharacium coloradoense'' consists of individual, spindle-shaped cells that are 120–230 μm long and 50–120 μm in diameter, attached to a substrate via a small pad. Cells are multinucleate, with multiple nuclei. Surrounding each nucleus is a cone-shaped 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 ...
which is stellate viewed from the front, each with a central pyrenoid. Nuclei and chloroplasts are each in their own lobe or compartment of the cytoplasm
The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...
, the lobes connected by thin bridges. 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 are absent.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 ...
s, which have two flagella, a stigma and a parietal with a pyrenoid. Alternatively,