Botryococcus

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Botryococcus
Temporal range: Precambrian - Recent >542–0  Ma
Botryococcus braunii.jpg
Botryococcus braunii
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Clade: Viridiplantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Trebouxiophyceae
Order: Trebouxiales
Family: Botryococcaceae
Genus: Botryococcus
Kützing, 1849
Type species
Botryococcus braunii
Kützing
Species [1]

See text

Botryococcus is a genus of green algae. It is a microscopic or semi-microscopic alga that is found in freshwater habitats worldwide. It consists of colonies of cells in an irregular, gelatinous matrix. [1]

Contents

Botryococcus produces high amounts of oil, which often make the colonies colored yellowish to reddish. When seen with a microscope, colonies release oil under the pressure of a cover slip. [2] Because of its high amounts of oil, Botryococcus is of interest to the field of biotechnology, as it is a promising source of biofuel. [3]

In addition to its current biosynthetic capabilites, fossils of the genus are known since Precambrian times, and form the single largest biological contributor to crude oil, and are a major component of oil shales. [4]

Taxonomy

The genus and its holotype were described in 1849 by Friedrich Traugott Kützing. [5]

Description

Botryococcus consists of irregularly shaped colonies of cells; in some species or when old, the colonies may be composed of subcolonies connected by gelatinous strands. Cells are 6-20 μm long and 2.5-8 μ wide, elongate, obovoid and narrower near the center of the colonies, ovoid, or spherical, and arranged around the periphery of the colony in one layer. They are partially or wholly submerged in a gelatinous matrix, or may be attached to the gelatinous matrix at the base. The matrix is often impregnated with oil that gives the colony a yellowish, brownish or reddish color. Cells are uninucleate (with one nucleus) and contain a single parietal, cup-shaped chloroplast with one pyrenoid (but the pyrenoid may not be visible due to oil droplets crowding the protoplast). [1]

Reproduction in Botryococcus occurs asexually by the formation of autospores. The protoplast divides into two, four, eight or 16 autospores, while the parent cell walls gelatinize. Sexual reproduction and zoospores have not been reported in this genus. [1]

Ecology

The algae is frequently found in plankton in waters with differing characteristics and a wide geographic distribution. It is an important component of algal blooms and the discoloration of water. [6]

Species

There are 13 accepted species in the genus. [1]

Species-level delimitation of Botryococcus remains difficult. Species are distinguished by morphological characters such as the cell size, shape, and characteristics of the mucilage. [7] However, the morphological characters may overlap and it is sometimes not possible to assign a population to a species. [6]

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Botryococcus braunii is a green, pyramid-shaped planktonic microalga that is of potentially great importance in the field of biotechnology. Until 2024 is was considered to have three races: A, B, and L., but it was then determined that these are three separate species. Colonies are held together by a lipid biofilm matrix can be found in temperate or tropical oligotrophic lakes and estuaries, and will bloom when in the presence of elevated levels of dissolved inorganic phosphorus. The species is notable for its ability to produce high amounts of hydrocarbons, especially oils in the form of triterpenes, that are typically around 30–40% of their dry weight. Compared to other green alge species it has a relatively thick cell wall that is accumulated from previous cellular divisions, making extraction of cytoplasmic components rather difficult. Much of the useful hydrocarbon oil is outside of the cell.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. "Botryococcus". AlgaeBase . World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  2. D. M. John; Brian A. Whitton; Alan J. Brook, eds. (2002). The freshwater algal flora of the British Isles: an identification guide to freshwater and terrestrial algae. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-77051-4.
  3. Metzger, P.; Largeau, C. (2005). "Botryococcus braunii: a rich source for hydrocarbons and related ether lipids". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 66 (25): 486–96. doi:10.1007/s00253-004-1779-z. PMID   15630516. S2CID   26975859.
  4. Tennant, Richard K.; Lux, Thomas M.; Sambles, Christine M.; Kuhn, Nikolaus J.; Petticrew, Ellen L.; Oldfield, Richard; Parker, David A.; Hatton, Jackie; Moore, Karen A.; Lee, Rob; Turney, Chris S. M. (2019-02-11). "Palaeogenomics of the Hydrocarbon Producing Microalga Botryococcus braunii". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 1776. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.1776T. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-38236-5 . ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6370823 . PMID   30742038.
  5. Kützing, Friedrich Traugott (1849). Species Algarum. Brockhaus. p. 892.
  6. 1 2 Fanés Treviño, Ingrid; Sánchez Castillo, Pedro; Comas González, Augusto (2009). "Contribution to the taxonomic study of the family Botryococcaceae (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) in southern Spain" (PDF). Cryptogamie, Algologie. 30: 17–30. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  7. Komárek, Jiří; Marvan, Petr (1992). "Morphological Differences in Natural Populations of the Genus Botryococcus (Chlorophyceae)". Archiv für Protistenkunde. 141 (1–2): 65–100. doi:10.1016/S0003-9365(11)80049-7.