Coccomyxa

This student page has not been curated.

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Coccomyxa

Classification

Eukaryota; Viridiplantae; Chlorophyta; Trebouxiophyceae; Trebouxiophyceae incertae sedis; Coccomyxaceae

Description and significance

Describe the disease caused by this organism if it is a pathogen, or the natural macroscopic "field guide" appearance and habitat of your organism if it is not. What is or has been the impact your organism on human history or our environment?. How does it do this? How have we harnessed this power, or tried to prevent it? In other words, how do you know it if you see it, and how does its presence influence humans in the present, and historically?

Coccomyxa typically referred to as green algae are spherical to over in shape with a smooth surface, no flagellum. This species appears green under microscope, consisting of photopigments in addition to alloxanthin, diadinoxanthin, and diatoxanthin (3). These autotrophs contain two forms of chlorophyll, but are primarily aquatic. Coccomyxa are often found on wet rocky areas, along shorelines, or in dense films along the surface of ponds (4).

Particular species of Coccymyxa have been discovered to infect the gall bladder of marine fish. Polysporous plasmodia form clusters in the bile ducts and gall bladder of the host causing cholestasis, periductular fibrosis, and pericholangitis (2). The species Coccomyxa parasitica have also been discovered to inhabit several components of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) including the mantle and gill filaments (3).

Coccomyxa are valuable for scientific research because this species has GC-rich mitrochondrial and plastic DNA. These GC-rich sequences are studied for phylogenetic analyses. There is also research about species with organelle DNAs biased toward G and C (4).

Genome structure

Describe the size and content of the genome. How many chromosomes and plasmids? Circular or linear? Other interesting features? What is known about its sequence?

Cell structure, metabolism & life cycle

Provide a physical and biochemical description of the organism. What kind of organism is it, what does it look like, how is it built, what are its metabolic properties, how can it be identified, what is it's life cycle, &c. In other words, describe the organism from its perspective.

Ecology (including pathogenesis)

Describe its habitat, symbiosis, and contributions to environment. If it is a pathogen, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Describe virulence factors and patient symptoms.

Interesting feature

Describe in detail one particularly interesting aspect of your organism or it's affect on humans or the environment.

References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.

(1)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&id=41891&lvl=3&p=mapview&p=has_linkout&p=blast_url&p=genome_blast&lin=f&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock

"Coccomyxa".  NCBI. 

(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17886740 Diamant A, Lipshitz A, Ucko M. "Phylogeny of Coccomyxa (Myxosporea: Myxidiidae) spp. with the description of a new species from Bathygobius cyclopterus (Gobiidae) in the northern Red Sea". NCBI.

(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19686756. Crespo C, Rodríguez H, Segade P, Iglesias R, García-Estévez JM. "Coccomyxa sp. (chlorophyta: chlorococcales), a new pathogen in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) of Vigo estuary (Galicia, NW Spain)". NCBI.