| Bracteacoccus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Bracteacoccus aggregatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Clade: | Viridiplantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Chlorophyceae |
| Order: | Sphaeropleales |
| Family: | Bracteacoccaceae P.M.Tsarenko |
| Genus: | Bracteacoccus Tereg, 1922 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Bracteacoccus aggregatus Tereg [1] | |
| Species | |
See text | |
Bracteacoccus is a genus of green algae, the sole genus of the family Bracteacoccaceae. [1] It is a terrestrial alga commonly found in soils, from the tropics to the poles. [2]
Bracteacoccus was described by E. Tereg in 1922, based on the species Bracteacoccus aggregatus. [2] The name comes from the Latin term bractea, meaning a thin metal plate, and Greek kokkos, meaning berry. [3] Later it was synonymized with the genus Dictyococcus, until Richard C. Starr reestablished the genus. [4]
Bracteacoccus consists of solitary, typically spherical cells from 4 to 110 μm in diameter. [2] Mature cells have multiple nuclei (i.e. are multinucleate). Each cell has multiple chloroplasts lining the outer wall of the cell; each chloroplast is angular in shape and lacks pyrenoids. [5]
Bracteacoccus reproduces asexually by producing zoospores. The zoospores have two flagella which are slightly unequal in length. Bracteacoccus may also reproduce by producing non-motile aplanospores. [2]
Morphologically, the genus is essentially indistinguishable from Pseudomuriella and Chromochloris , except for the fact that the latter two genera do not take up fluorescent dyes as easily. [6] The three genera are phylogenetically distinct. [2] It is also similar to the genus Dictyococcus , but Dictyococcus has chloroplasts which are inflected inwards. [4]
As of February 2022 [update] , AlgaeBase accepted the following species: [1]
A further species, Bracteacoccus helveticus (Kol & F.Chodat) Starr, was regarded as of "uncertain taxonomic status". [1]
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