Chlamydomonas

GREAT strides in understanding fundamental processes in eukaryotic cells have come from genetic studies on budding and fission yeasts and other fungi. The exquisite experimental tools developed for use with these systems have made them the undisputed first choice for studying a variety of metabolic pathways and other cellular processes, such as cell cycle control, cell signaling, and the regulation of gene expression. However, these systems represent only a small fraction of the immense diversity of form and function found in eukaryotic systems (see Margulis and Schwartz 1982). To understand this diversity at the molecular level, experimentalists must tap the vast array of unicellular eukaryotes, many of which provide insights into biological processes that cannot be studied in the usual fungal systems. Recent advances in the genetic analysis of protistans, including Dictyostelium (e.g., Kuspa and Loomis 1996); Physarum (reviewed by Burland et al. 1993); and the ciliates Tetrahymena (e.g., Brickner et al. 1996) and Paramecium (reviewed by Preer 1997), have provided the tools for studying fascinating cellular processes exhibited by these systems. In this article we will focus on the unicellular eukaryote Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by looking back at recent technical advances and ahead to the prospect of functional genomics being applied to this powerful model system. WHY CHLAMYDOMONAS? Chlamydomonas occupies an important niche in the world of eukaryotic cell biology. It is a...

• አማርኛ • العربية • Azərbaycanca • Беларуская • Bosanski • Català • Cebuano • Čeština • Cymraeg • Deutsch • Eesti • Español • Esperanto • Euskara • فارسی • Français • Galego • 한국어 • Հայերեն • Hrvatski • Bahasa Indonesia • Italiano • Қазақша • Latina • Lietuvių • مصرى • Nederlands • 日本語 • پنجابی • Polski • Português • Русский • Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски • Svenska • தமிழ் • Тоҷикӣ • Türkçe • Українська • 中文 Chlamydomonas globosa, again with two flagella just visible at bottom left Chlamydomonas ( ˌ k l æ m ɪ ˈ d ɒ m ə n ə s, - d ə ˈ m oʊ-/ KLAM-ih- DOM-ə-nəs, -⁠də- MOH-) is a genus of Chlamydomonas is used as a Chlamydomonas is that it contains Chlamydomonas are more complex than their Chlamydomonas as defined using morphological data, was Chlamydomonas" s.l. lineages are still to be reclassified. Description [ ] All Chlamydomonas are unicellular organisms, spherical or slightly cylindrical, and a papilla may be present or absent. Chloroplasts are green and usually cup-shaped. Species [ ] • Chlamydomonas acidophila • Chlamydomonas caudata Wille • Chlamydomonas ehrenbergii Gorozhankin • • Chlamydomonas moewusii • Chlamydomonas • • Chlamydomonas ovoidae • Ecology [ ] Chlamydomonas is widely distributed in freshwater or damp soil. Chlamydomonas's asexual reproduction occurs by Nutrition [ ] Most species are obligate C. dysostosis are facultative heterotrophs that can grow in the dark in the presence of acetate as a carbon source. Morphology [ ] • Motile unicellular algae. ...

Chlamydomonas: Classification, Structure and Life Cycle Table of Contents • • • • • • • Chlamydomonas is a green alga that is found in both freshwater and seawater. About 150 species of the genus are known that are all unicellular and biflagellated. It can sometimes become so abundant that the whole water body appears green. It is a model organism that is studied in molecular biology. Morphology • Chlamydomonas are motile and unicellular green algae. • They can be oblong, spherical, oval, pyriform or ellipsoidal in shape. • A pyriform or pear-shaped thallus is common in Chlamydomonas, such that they have a narrow anterior region and broad posterior region. • The cell wall of the organisms is thin and firm and is made up of cellulose. • The cytoplasm inside the cell wall possesses a nucleus, mitochondria, dictyosomes, ribosomes and endoplasmic reticulum. • The nucleus is present inside the cavity-shaped chloroplast in the cytoplasm. • There are two vacuoles in the cytoplasm that perform osmoregulatory and excretory functions. • Two whiplash flagella are found at the anterior end of the organism. • The cup-shaped parietal C. bicilliata, stellate in C. arachne, reticulate in C. reticulata and so on. • The pyrenoids are smaller microcompartments within the chloroplast that are responsible for the synthesis of starch. There can be one to many pyrenoids in Chlamydomonas. • The anterior portion of the chloroplast has an eyespot. It is an orange or red-coloured tiny spot that is p...

Co-Chairs: Martin Jonikas, HHMI & Princeton University James Umen, Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center Advisory Committee: Olivier Vallon, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique Susan Dutcher, Washington University in St. Louis Arthur Grossman, Carnegie Institution for Science Karl Lechtreck, University of Georgia Krishna Niyogi, HHMI & University of California, Berkeley Steve King, University of Connecticut Sebeeha Merchant, University of California, Berkeley Pete Lefebvre, University of Minnesota