Pinguiochrysidaceae is a family of marine Heterokontophyta. It is the only family in the order Pinguiochrysidales, which is the only order in the class Pinguiophyceae. It includes five species of unicellular organisms with high concentration of

polyunsaturated fatty acid In biochemistry and nutrition, a polyunsaturated fat is a fat that contains a polyunsaturated fatty acid (abbreviated PUFA), which is a subclass of fatty acid characterized by a backbone with two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Some polyunsa ...

s in 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 other common features are the lack of

cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some Cell type, cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, ...

and the tendency for

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 ...

loss even on the stage of

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 ...

, which is unusual for heterokonts. One species (''Polypodochrysis teissieri'') inhabits benthic substates (sometimes found the

mucilage Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion, with the direction of their movement always opposite to that of the secretion of ...

of other algae) and is able to produce lorica with one or more tubular necks. The other species live in the

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

Species

* Class Pinguiophyceae ** Order Pinguiochrysidales Kawachi et al., 2002 *** Family Pinguiochrysidaceae Kawachi et al., 2002 **** Genus '' Glossomastix'' O’Kelly, 2002 ***** Species '' Glossomastix chrysoplasta'' O’Kelly, 2002 **** Genus '' Phaeomonas'' Honda & Inouye, 2002 ***** Species '' Phaeomonas parva'' Honda & Inouye, 2002 **** Genus '' Pinguiochrysis'' Kawachi, Atsumi, Ikemoto & Miyachi, 2002 ***** Species '' Pinguiochrysis pyriformis'' Kawachi, Atsumi, Ikemoto & Miyachi, 2002 ***** Species '' Pinguiochrysis rumoiana'' Kato & Masuda 2003 **** Genus '' Pinguiococcus'' Andersen, Potter & Bailey, 2002 ***** Species '' Pinguiococcus pyrenoidosus'' Andersen, Potter & Bailey, 2002 **** Genus '' Polypodochrysis'' Magne, 1975 ***** Species '' Polypodochrysis teissieri'' Magne, 1975

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q21446414, from2=Q1550973, from3=Q21446417 Ochrophyta Ochrophyte families