Ostreococcus tauri
| Ostreococcus tauri | |
|---|---|
| Transmission electron micrograph of an O. tauri cell | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Prasinophyceae |
| Order: | Mamiellales |
| Family: | Mamiellaceae |
| Genus: | Ostreococcus |
| Species: | O. tauri |
| Binomial name | |
|
Ostreococcus tauri C. Courties & M.-J. Chrétiennot-Dinet (1995) |
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Ostreococcus tauri is a unicellular species of marine green alga about 0.8 micrometres (μm) in diameter, the smallest free-living (non-symbiotic) eukaryote yet described. It has a very simple ultrastructure, and a compact genome.
As a common member of global oceanic picoplankton populations, this organism has a major role in the carbon cycle in many areas. Recently, O. tauri has been the subject of studies using comparative genomics and functional genomics, as it is of interest to researchers because of its compact genome and green lineage.
O. tauri was discovered in 1994 in the Thau lagoon, France, in a year-long study of the picoplankton population of the lagoon using flow cytometry. O. tauri was found to be the main component of the picoplankton population in the lagoon, and images of cells produced by transmission electron microscopy revealed the smallest yet described free-living eukaryotic cells.O. tauri was immediately placed in the class Prasinophyceae based on the presence of characteristic chlorophyll pigments and Chlorophyceae-related carotenoids, and this classification was confirmed by further work.
Cells are roughly spherical (coccoid), averaging about 1 μm long by 0.7 μm wide. The cell's ultrastructure is very simple, lacking a cell wall and consisting of a nucleus, a single , a single chloroplast, and a single Golgi apparatus. Cells also lack flagella.
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