Picophagea, also known as Synchromophyceae, is a class of

photosynthetic Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...

stramenopile The stramenopiles, also called heterokonts, are protists distinguished by the presence of stiff tripartite external hairs. In most species, the hairs are attached to flagella, in some they are attached to other areas of the cellular surface, an ...

s. The chloroplast of the Synchromophyceae are surrounded by two membranes and arranged in a way where they share the outer pair of membranes. The entire chloroplast complex is surrounded by an additional two outer membranes.

Evolution

Synchromophyceae or Picophagea is a clade within the

Ochrophyta Ochrophytes, also known as heterokontophytes or stramenochromes, are a phylum of algae. They are the photosynthetic stramenopiles, a group of eukaryotes, organisms with a cell nucleus, characterized by the presence of two unequal flagella, one o ...

that contains a few genera of amoeboid organisms such as the

mixotrophic A mixotroph is an organism that uses a mix of different sources of energy and carbon, instead of having a single trophic mode, on the continuum from complete autotrophy to complete heterotrophy. It is estimated that mixotrophs comprise more than ...

'' Synchromonas'' and the

heterotrophic A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

'' Chlamydomyxa'', '' Leukarachnion'' and '' Picophagus''. It is phylogenetically close to the classes

Chrysophyceae The Chrysophyceae, usually called chrysophytes, chrysomonads, golden-brown algae, or golden algae, are a large group of algae, found mostly in freshwater. Golden algae is also commonly used to refer to a single species, '' Prymnesium parvum'', wh ...

and

Eustigmatophyceae Eustigmatophytes are a small group (17 genera; ~107 species) of eukaryotic forms of algae that includes marine, freshwater and soil-living species. All eustigmatophytes are unicellular, with coccoid cells and polysaccharide cell walls. Eus ...

, within the SII clade.

Taxonomy

According to AlgaeBase, the class contains only two genera: * Class Picophagea Synchromophyceae ** Order

Synchromales ''Synchroma'' () is a genus of marine life, marine stramenopile algae containing two species with amoeboid morphology. They are grouped within the monotypic family Synchromaceae and order Synchromales as part of an independent clade of ochrophyte ...

Horn & Ehlers 2007 *** Family

Synchromaceae ''Synchroma'' () is a genus of marine stramenopile algae containing two species with amoeboid morphology. They are grouped within the monotypic family Synchromaceae and order Synchromales as part of an independent clade of ochrophytes known as P ...

Schnetter & Ehlers 2007 **** Genus ''

Synchroma ''Synchroma'' () is a genus of marine stramenopile algae containing two species with amoeboid morphology. They are grouped within the monotypic family Synchromaceae and order Synchromales as part of an independent clade of ochrophytes known as P ...

'' Schnetter 2007 ** Order Chlamydomyxales *** Family Chlamydomyxaceae **** Genus '' Chlamydomyxa'' Archer 1875 However, the latest revision recognizes an additional four genera: '' Chrysopodocystis'', '' Guanochroma'', '' Leukarachnion'' and '' Picophagus''.

References

Ochrophyta Ochrophyte classes Taxa described in 2006 Taxa named by Thomas Cavalier-Smith {{Heterokont-stub