Chlorarachniophyte

The chlorarachniophytes are a small group of exclusively marine algae widely distributed in tropical and temperate waters.

[5] They are surrounded by four membranes, the outermost of which is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum, and contain a small nucleomorph between the middle two, which is a remnant of the alga's nucleus.

The origin of the chloroplasts from green algae is supported by their pigmentation, which includes chlorophylls a and b, and by genetic similarities.

The chlorarachniophytes only include five genera, which show some variation in their life-cycles and may lack one or two of the stages described above.

Genetic studies place them among the Cercozoa, a diverse group of amoeboid and amoeboid-like[clarification needed] protozoa.

A cultured chlorarachniophyte, Lotharella globosa LEX01 strain [ 2 ]
Representation of a Chlorarachniophyte
  1. Filopodium
  2. Extrusomes
  3. Mitochondrion , creates ATP (energy) for the cell (flat cristae)
  4. Capping vesicle
  5. Golgi apparatus , modifies proteins and sends them out of the cell
  6. Nucleomorph
  7. Plastid membranes (4, secondary green)
  8. Stacked thylakoid , site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis
  9. Pyrenoid , center of carbon fixation
  10. Globules
  11. Endoplasmic reticulum , the transport network for molecules going to specific parts of the cell
  12. Nucleolus
  13. Nucleus
  14. Prey in phagosome
  15. Digestive vacuole