Biology:Volvulina

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Volvulina is a genus of colonial green algae in the family Volvocaceae.[1] It is cosmopolitan, but rare.[2]

Description

Volvulina is a multicellular organism. The colony, termed a coenobium, is broadly ellipsoidal or spherical and consists of a fixed number of cells, usually 16 in mature individuals (rarely 4, 8 or 32). The cells are located at periphery of the coenobium and separated from each other by being embedded in a gelatinous matrix. The cell body is lens-shaped or hemispherical when mature, with two equal flagella. The chloroplast is dish- or bowl-shaped. Pyrenoids may be absent or present (located at the base of the chloroplast); eyespots are present, with eyespots in anterior cells larger than those in posterior cells.[2] The nucleus is centrally located[3] and there may be two contractile vacuoles at the base of each flagella, or several scattered contractile vacuoles.[2]

Volvulina reproduces both asexually and sexually. In asexual reproduction, each cell of the colony develops into a daughter colony through successive cell divisions, and then subsequent colony inversion. Sexual reproduction is isogamous.[2]

Species

Three species of Volvulina are well-characterized: Volvulina steinii, Volvulina pringsheimii, and Volvulina compacta.[2] The three species differ from each other in morphology, namely: the shape of the cells and whether they are contiguous, and the presence or location of pyrenoids.[4] In addition to these three species, there is also Volvulina playferiana which is poorly described and may be an immature form of V. steinii,[4] and Volvulina boldii which is a nomen nudum.[5]

Phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetic studies show that Volvulina is paraphyletic with respect to Pandorina:[6][7][8]

 
 

Platydorina + Colemanosphaera (outgroup)

 
 
 

Volvulina steinii

 
 
 
 

"Volvulina boldii"

 
 

Pandorina colemaniae

 
 
 

Pandorina morum

 
 
 

Volvulina compacta pro parte

 
 
 

Volvulina compacta pro parte

 
 

Volvulina pringsheimii

 
 
 
 
 
 

References

  1. ↑ See the NCBI webpage on Volvulina. Data extracted from the "NCBI taxonomy resources". National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://ftp.ncbi.nih.gov/pub/taxonomy/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named AlgaeBase
  3. ↑ Protist Images: Volvulina.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nozaki, H.; Kuroiwa, T. (1990). "Volvulina compacta sp. nov. (Volvocaceae, Chlorophyta) from Nepal". Phycologia 29 (4): 410–417. doi:10.2216/i0031-8884-29-4-410.1. Bibcode: 1990Phyco..29..410N. 
  5. ↑ Nakada, T.; Tomita, M.; Nozaki, H. (2010). "Volvulina compacta (Volvocaceae, Chlorophyceae), new to Japan, and its phylogenetic position". Journal of Japanese Botany 85. doi:10.51033/jjapbot.85_6_10256. 
  6. ↑ Lindsey, Charles Ross; Rosenzweig, Frank; Herron, Matthew D. (2021). "Phylotranscriptomics points to multiple independent origins of multicellularity and cellular differentiation in the volvocine algae". BMC Biology 19 (1): 182. doi:10.1186/s12915-021-01087-0. PMID 34465312. Bibcode: 2021BMCB...19..182L. 
  7. ↑ Ma, Xiaoya; Shi, Xuan; Wang, Qiuping; Zhao, Mengru; Zhang, Zhenhua; Zhong, Bojian (2023). "A Reinvestigation of Multiple Independent Evolution and Triassic–Jurassic Origins of Multicellular Volvocine Algae". Genome Biology and Evolution 15 (8). doi:10.1093/gbe/evad142. PMID 37498572. 
  8. ↑ Lindsey, Charles Ross; Knoll, Andrew H.; Herron, Matthew D.; Rosenzweig, Frank (2024-04-10). "Fossil-calibrated molecular clock data enable reconstruction of steps leading to differentiated multicellularity and anisogamy in the Volvocine algae". BMC Biology 22 (1): 79. doi:10.1186/s12915-024-01878-1. ISSN 1741-7007. PMID 38600528. Bibcode: 2024BMCB...22...79L. 

Wikidata ☰ Q1460963 entry