Chlamydomonadales

Dark ground image of colony, with daughter colonies enclosed within.

Asteromonas (ass-tear-owe-moan-ass) gracilis, a volvocalean green alga - a group more usually associated with freshwater habitats. With grass green chloroplast with cup-shape (mostly located at base of cells but extending up along the sides), two polar flagella, and starch-enclosed pyrenoid appearing as a disc near posterior end. Cell usually with 6 surface ridges. Differential interference microscopy. data on this strain.

Asteromonas (ass-tear-owe-moan-ass) gracilis, a volvocalean green alga - a group more usually associated with freshwater habitats. With grass green chloroplast with cup-shape (mostly located at base of cells but extending up along the sides), two polar flagella, and red/brown eyespot or stigma. Cell usually with 6 surface ridges. Differential interference microscopy. data on this strain.

Dunaliella (done-al-ee-ell-a) tertiolecta, one of the marine volvocid flagellates with two similar flagella inserted at the apex of the cell. No wall or theca. Eyespot to the left. Often found in salt marshes or sites of high salinity, some species in this genus produce carotenes and are farmed commercially for these compounds. Phase contrast. data on this strain.

Dunaliella (done-al-ee-ell-a) tertiolecta, one of the marine volvocid flagellates with two similar flagella inserted at the apex of the cell. No wall or theca. Eyespot to the right. Cup-shaped green chloroplast. Often found in salt marshes or sites of high salinity, some species in this genus produce carotenes and are farmed commercially for these compounds. Differential interference microscopy. data on this strain.

Phase contrast image of ATCC 30929.

Phase contrast image of ATCC 30929.

Portrait of Vitreochlamys fluviatilis, formerly Sphaerellopsis fluviatilis. The genus name, Sphaerellopsis (Korchikoff, 1925) was preoccupied by an Ascomycete fungus. This fungus Sphaerellopsis filum (Cooke, 1883) is a hyperparasite of another fungus, willow rust (Melampsora). Batko renamed this volvocid flagellate genus Vitreochlamys. This genus is similar to Chlamydomonas (some consider it synonymous) but differs from it by having a protoplast and surrounding gelatinous sheath that are fusiform. There are two equal length flagella. The nucleus is central. There is a large cup-shaped chloroplast and a posterior pyrenoid. Two anterior contractile vacuoles are located near the flagellar bases. There is a small anterior stigma. From a freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho. Oblique illumination. 

Asterococcus (a-stir-owe-cock-us) superbus. The large round or ellipsoid cells of Asterococcus occur singly or in groups with up to 8 cells embedded in a well-developed mucilage envelope. Groups reach 180 microns in diameter. The gelatinous sheaths are normally colourless and in concentrically arranged layers. The sheaths may be coloured brown by iron hydroxide. The single chloroplast is star-shaped and the pyrenoids are arranged in the center of the cell. The nucleus is located in a gap between the strands of the chlororoplast, together with two contractile vacuoles. No eyespot. Common in freshwater ponds and lakes. This image is of a squashed colony of Asterococcus superbus. The concentrically arranged layers of the gelatinous sheaths are clearly visible. The cells measuring 22 - 26 microns in diameter. Differential interference contrast.

Portrait of the planktonic chlorococcalean alga Golenkinia radiata (Chodat,1894) Korshikov,1953.Cells are solitary, spherical with multiple radiating fine spines at least 2-3 times cell width in length.There is a single cup-shaped chloroplast.Collected from a freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho. DIC.

Portrait of the planktonic chlorococcalean alga Golenkinia radiata (Chodat,1894) Korshikov,1953.Cells are solitary, spherical with multiple radiating fine spines at least 2-3 times cell width in length.The thin gelatinous sheath is seen in this image.There is a single cup-shaped chloroplast.The single pyrenoid is seen here.Collected from a freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho. DIC.

Portrait of the planktonic chlorococcalean alga Golenkinia radiata (Chodat,1894) Korshikov,1953.Cells are solitary, spherical with multiple radiating fine spines at least 2-3 times cell width in length.There is a single cup-shaped chloroplast.Collected from a freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho. Phase contrast.

In vivo portrait of the volvocid flagellate,  Volvulina steinii Playfair,1915. Collected from a temporary rainwater puddle on a grass lawn in Boise, Idaho 43°36'49.03"" N 116° 13' 23.77"" W elev. 2674 ft.March 2006.Brightfield.

Portartit of the volvocid flagellate, Volvulina steinii Playfair,1915. The cells are hemispherical with the flattened face of each toward the exterior in contact with the thin investing gelatinous envelope.The inner limit of the envelope is visible here. the thickness of the investing layer of the gelatinous envelope is indicated here by debris adhering to its exterior surface.Each of the 16 cells in the colony bears two equal-length flagella (seen here in the cell at 12 o'clock). Only cells at the ""anterior"" end of the colony have eyespots. each cell has two contractile vacuoles (seen here in the cell at 12 o'clock.Collected from a temporary rainwater puddle on a grass lawn in Boise, Idaho  In vivo portrait of the volvocid flagellate,   43°36'49.03"" N 116° 13' 23.77"" W elev. 2674 ft. elev. 2674 ft.  March 2006.  DIC.

In vivo portartit of slightly compressed volvocid flagellate, Volvulina steinii Playfair,1915 showing the two contractile vacuoles. The single nucleus of several cells is visible. Only the ""anterior"" cells of the colony have red eyespots. Collected from a temporary rainwater puddle on a grass lawn in Boise, Idaho.  43°36'49.03"" N 116° 13' 23.77"" W elev. 2674 ft. March 2006.  DIC.    

In vivo surface view of the volvocid flagellate, Volvulina steinii Playfair,1915. Collected from a temporary rainwater puddle on a grass lawn in Boise, Idaho 43° 36' 49.03"" N 116° 13' 23.77"" W elev. 2674 ft. March 2006. DIC.

Close-up view of Asterococcus limneticus. In the center of the cell we see a pyrenoid amidst the stellate chloroplast. In addition, the right cell shows the nucleus (1) and the two contractile vacuoles (2).   Sample from sphagnum pond Dosenmoor near Neumuenster (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). Images were taken using Zeiss Axioplan with Canon 600D CCD camera.  Image under Creative Commons License V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA).