20643580
not annotated - annotated - LINNAEUS only
Morphology and ultrastructure of multiple life cycle stages of the photosynthetic relative of apicomplexa, Chromera velia.
Chromera velia is a photosynthetic alga with a secondary plastid that represents the closest known photosynthetic relative of the apicomplexan parasites. The original description of this organism was based on brownish, immotile coccoid cells, which is the predominating stage of C. velia in the culture. Here we provide a detailed light and electron microscopy description of coccoid cells of C. velia and a previously undocumented bi-flagellated stage that is highly motile and moves in a characteristic zig-zag pattern. Transformation from a coccoid into a flagellate stage occurs in exponentially growing cultures, and is accelerated by exposure to light. The C. velia cells contain a pseudoconoid, which is likely homologous to the corresponding structure in the apical complex of Apicomplexa, cortical alveoli subtended by subpellicular microtubules, mitochondrion with tubular cristae, a micropyle, and a distinctive chromerosome, an apparently novel type of extrusion organelle. Ultrastructural analysis of the flagellate supports its close association with colpodellids and apicomplexans and provides important insight into their evolution.
Ann file
T1 Species 107 121 Chromera velia
N1 Reference T1 Taxonomy:505693
T2 Species 125 139 Chromera velia
N2 Reference T2 Taxonomy:505693
T3 Species 404 412 C. velia
N3 Reference T3 Taxonomy:505693
T4 Species 518 526 C. velia
N4 Reference T4 Taxonomy:505693
T5 Species 788 796 C. velia
N5 Reference T5 Taxonomy:505693