Chlorella: 125 years of the green survivalist

Lothar Krienitz; Volker A R Huss; Christina Bock

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2014.11.005

Chlorella: 125 years of the green survivalist

Trends Plant Sci. 2015 Feb;20(2):67-9. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2014.11.005. Epub 2014 Dec 11.

Authors

Lothar Krienitz¹, Volker A R Huss², Christina Bock³

Affiliations

¹ Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, D-16775 Stechlin, Germany. Electronic address: krie@igb-berlin.de.
² Plant Molecular Physiology, Department Biology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany.
³ Biodiversity, University of Duisburg-Essen, D-45141 Essen, Germany.

PMID: 25500553
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2014.11.005

Abstract

Chlorella, the archetype of unicellular green algae, is a high-performance primary producer in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Under the simple spherical morphology of Chlorella, many other 'green balls' unfolded as independent phylogenetic lineages as a result of convergent evolution. By contrast, green algae with strikingly different phenotypes were unmasked as close relatives of Chlorella by modern molecular techniques. Here, we point to the increasing impact of these diverse protists on ecology, evolution, and biotechnology in the light of integrative taxonomy.

Keywords: biodiversity; green algae; mass cultivation; microphyte phylogeny; model organism; phenotypic adaptation.

MeSH terms

Biological Evolution*
Biotechnology
Chlorella / classification*
Chlorella / cytology
Chlorella / genetics
Ecology
Phylogeny*