Chromera veliais 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 ofC. veliain the culture. Here we provide a detailed light and electron microscopy description of coccoid cells ofC. veliaand 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. TheC. veliacells 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.

Biology Centre Institute of Parasitology Czech Academy of Sciences and Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia 37005 České Budějovice Czech Republic

Citace poskytuje Crossref.org

Circadian rhythms and circadian clock gene homologs of complex alga Chromera velia

The cell wall polysaccharides of a photosynthetic relative of apicomplexans, Chromera velia

Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Chromerids

Isolation of plastids and mitochondria from Chromera velia

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Roles of Detoxification Systems in Response to Mercury in Chromera velia

The effect of light quality and quantity on carbon allocation in Chromera velia

Morphology, Ultrastructure, and Mitochondrial Genome of the Marine Non-Photosynthetic Bicosoecid Cafileria marina Gen. et sp. nov

Antenna proton sensitivity determines photosynthetic light harvesting strategy

Cyc8p and Tup1p transcription regulators antagonistically regulate Flo11p expression and complexity of yeast colony biofilms

High light acclimation of Chromera velia points to photoprotective NPQ

Chromerid genomes reveal the evolutionary path from photosynthetic algae to obligate intracellular parasites

Tetrapyrrole synthesis of photosynthetic chromerids is likely homologous to the unusual pathway of apicomplexan parasites