| Elliptochloris | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Elliptochloris bilobata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| (unranked): | Viridiplantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Trebouxiophyceae |
| Order: | Prasiolales |
| Family: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | Elliptochloris Tscherm.-Woess [1] |
| Species [1] | |
| |
Elliptochloris is a genus of green algae in the order Prasiolales. [1] Some species in the genus are photobiont partners in lichens. [2]
A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are important actors in nutrient cycling and act as producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in many colors, sizes, and forms and are sometimes plant-like, but are not plants. They may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose); have a powder-like appearance (leprose); or other growth forms.
The glaucophytes, also known as glaucocystophytes or glaucocystids, are a small group of unicellular algae found in freshwater and moist terrestrial environments, less common today than they were during the Proterozoic. The stated number of species in the group varies from about 14 to 26. Together with the red algae (Rhodophyta) and the green algae plus land plants, they form the Archaeplastida.
Jean-Baptiste Édouard Bornet was a French botanist. The standard author abbreviation Bornet is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
Osborne Morton is a former phycologist in the Ulster Museum. Morton resigned in 2007.
The Trebouxiophyceae are a class of green algae, in the division Chlorophyta. Their circumscription within the green algae is not well established due to the need for more genetic studies at higher levels within the group.
The Palmellaceae are a family of green algae, specifically of the Chlamydomonadales. Members of this group are typically found in atmophytic or terrestrial habitats, or as phycobionts associated with lichens; a few are found in fresh water.
Cephaleuros is a genus of parasitic thalloid green algae comprising approximately 14 species. Its common name is red rust. Specimens can reach around 10 mm in size. Dichotomous branches are formed. The alga is parasitic on some important economic plants of the tropics and subtropics such as tea, coffee, mango and guava causing damage limited to the area of algal growth on leaves, or killing new shoots, or disfiguring fruit. Spores germinate on plants in the rainy season. Members of the genera may also grow with a fungus to form a lichen that does not damage the plants. There are 17 species in the genus, 13 of which grow between the cuticle and epidermis of infected plants while the remaining four grow intercellularly; interceullular species cause more damage to host plants.
Pseudochlorella signiensis is a species of green algae in the family Koliellaceae. Pabia signiensis, the only species in the genus Pabia, is regarded as a synonym. Pabia was sunk into Pseudochlorella in 2016.
Heterococcus is a genus of yellow-green algae (xanthophytes) in the family Heteropediaceae. It is the only xanthophyte genus known to form lichens.
Trebouxia is a unicellular green alga. It is a photosynthetic organism that can exist in almost all habitats found in polar, tropical, and temperate regions. It can either exist in a symbiotic relationship with fungi in the form of lichen or it can survive independently as a free-living organism alone or in colonies. Trebouxia is the most common photobiont in extant lichens. It is a primary producer of marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. It uses carotenoids and chlorophyll a and b to harvest energy from the sun and provide nutrients to various animals and insects.
Trentepohlia is a genus of filamentous chlorophyte green algae in the family Trentepohliaceae, living free on terrestrial supports such as tree trunks and wet rocks or symbiotically in lichens. The filaments of Trentepohlia have a strong orange colour caused by the presence of large quantities of carotenoid pigments which mask the green of the chlorophyll.
Chlorokybus is a multicellular (sarcinoid) genus of basal green algae or charophyte. It has been classified as the sole member of the family Chlorokybaceae, which is the sole member of the order Chlorokybales, in turn the sole member of the class Chlorokybophyceae. It grows on soil and rock surfaces, and is rare.
Mesostigma is a genus of unicellular biflagellate freshwater green algae, with a single species Mesostigma viride, covered by an outer layer of basket‐like scales instead of a cell wall. As of February 2022, AlgaeBase classified it as the only genus in the family Mesostigmataceae, the only family in the order Mesostigmatales, the only order in the class Mesostigmatophyceae. It is now considered to be one of the earliest diverging members of green plants/algae (Viridiplantae).
Verrucariaceae is a family of lichens and a few non-lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichens have a wide variety of thallus forms, from crustose (crust-like) to foliose (bushy) and squamulose (scaly). Most of them grow on land, some in freshwater and a few in the sea. Many are free-living but there are some species that are parasites on other lichens, while one marine species always lives together with a leafy green alga.
Myrmecia is a genus of green algae that is associated with lichens.
Lichen anatomy and physiology is very different from the anatomy and physiology of the fungus and/or algae and/or cyanobacteria that make up the lichen when growing apart from the lichen, either naturally, or in culture. The fungal partner is called the mycobiont. The photosynthetic partner, algae or cyanobacteria, is called the photobiont. The body of a lichens that does not contain reproductive parts of the fungus is called the thallus. The thallus is different from those of either the fungus or alga growing separately. The fungus surrounds the algal cells, often enclosing them within complex fungal tissues unique to lichen associations. In many species the fungus penetrates the algal cell wall, forming penetration pegs or haustoria similar to those produced by pathogenic fungi. Lichens are capable of surviving extremely low levels of water content (poikilohydric). However, the re-configuration of membranes following a period of dehydration requires several minutes at least.
Symbiosis in lichens is the mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship of green algae and/or blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) living among filaments of a fungus, forming lichen.
Elisabeth Tschermak-Woess was an Austrian University lecturer, cytologist, and phycologist who worked with lichen photobionts. In 1994, Tschermak-Woess was awarded the Acharius Medal for her lifetime contributions to lichenology. She had a Festschrift dedicated to her in 1988, in the journal Plant Systematics and Evolution. Lichen taxa that have been named after Tschermak-Woess include the genus Woessia and the species Asterochloris woessiae.
A mycophycobiosis (composed of myco-, from the Ancient Greek: μύκης, phyco-, from Ancient Greek: φῦκος,, and -biose, from ancient Greek: βιόω is a symbiotic organism made up of a multicellular algae and an ascomycete fungus housed inside the algae. The algae and fungus involved in this association are called mycophycobionts.
Trebouxia decolorans is a widespread and common symbiotic species of green alga that is found in association with different species of lichen-forming fungi. Some lichens in which it is the photobiont partner are Xanthoria parietina and Anaptychia ciliaris.
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