Cryptomonas
Classification
Eukaryota; Cryptophyta; Cryptomonadales; Cryptomonadaceae; Cryptomonas
Species
Cryptomonas borealis [1] |
Cryptomonas commutata [2] |
Cryptomonas curvata [3] |
Cryptomonas erosa [4] |
Cryptomonas gyropyrenoidosa [5] |
Cryptomonas lundii [6] |
Cryptomonas loricata [7] |
Cryptomonas marssonii [8] |
Cryptomonas obovoidea [9] |
Cryptomonas ovata [10] |
Cryptomonas paramaecium [11] |
Cryptomonas phaseolus [12] |
Cryptomonas pyrenoidifera [13] |
Cryptomonas tetrapyrenoidosa [14] |
Description and Significance
Cryptomonas is a genus of phytoplankton that inhabit freshwater aquatic systems. The genus belongs to a larger collective of organisms called "cryptomonads", which consists of of biflagellate organisms. Cryptomonads can be either protozoans (order Cryptomonadida) or alga (class Cryptophyceae). Cryptomonas phytoplankton function as primary producers in freshwater ecosystems and contribute to the foraging base of many heterotrophs, including macroinvertibrates and fishes. While species coexist in the same habitats, they follow sequential blooms and occupy different spatial niches within the water column, thereby justifying their contribution to the "paradox of the plankton".
Genome Structure
Originally this genus existed as three seperate genuses: Cryptomonas, Campylomonas, and Chilomonas. However, after the analysis of two nuclear ribosomal DNA regions and and a nucleomorph ribosomal gene, Campylomonas and Chilomonas were found to be the result of life history-dependent dimorphism in the Cryptomonas genus, and where therefore reclassified. [1]
Species within the genus Cryptomonas have 4 genomes within the cell: the nucleus, the nucleomorph, the plastid, and the mitochondrial genomes. The plastid genome is circular and contains 118 kilobase pairs. This genome is the direct result of secondary endosymbiosis via a viral phage from a red alga, which accounts for the presence of red chloroplasts found in distant strains of cyanobacteria.
Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle
Interesting features of cell structure; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.
Ecology and Pathogenesis
Habitat; symbiosis; biogeochemical significance; contributions to environment.
If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.
References
Author
Page authored by Alison Cutter and Alexandra David, students of Prof. Jay Lennon at Michigan State University.