By Louisa Howard, Dartmouth College
Scientific name: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Common name(s): Green algae
Name as shown in Phylogenes: C. reinhardtii
Ploidy: Haploid
Description:
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a haploid unicellular green algae found in a wide variety of environments all over the world including freshwater lakes, soil and snow. The single celled organism has one chloroplast and moves via an anterior flagella.It is a member of the Chrlorophyta; there are over 500 species of Chlamydomonas.
The most commonly used experimental species, C.reinhardtii , can be grown in the dark when supplied with acetate as an carbon source. It is used as a model system for studying a wide range of processes such as photosynthesis, flagella assembly and movement, phototaxis, and mating.
Reference(s):
Merchant SS, et al. The Chlamydomonas genome reveals the evolution of key animal and plant functions. Science. 2007 Oct 12;318(5848):245-50. doi: 10.1126/science.1143609
Genome Database(s):
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