Botryococcaceae | |
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Botryococcus braunii | |
Scientific classification | |
Clade: | Viridiplantae |
Division: | Chlorophyta |
Class: | Trebouxiophyceae |
Order: | Trebouxiales |
Family: | Botryococcaceae Wille, 1909[1] |
Genera | |
Botryococcaceae is a family of green algae in the class Trebouxiophyceae.[2]
Traditionally, Botryococcaceae has been defined on morphological grounds. Members of this family consist of irregular colonies of cells found free-floating or attached to a substrate. Cells are united by mucilaginous stalks that are formed by the gelatinization of the old parent cell walls. Cells may be spherical, ellipsoidal, or ovoid with a chloroplast with or without a pyrenoid. Reproduction occurs exclusively asexually by the formation of autospores.[3] However, molecular phylogenetic studies have found that some genera placed in Botryococcaceae based on morphology alone are unrelated to Botryococcus; the genus Dictyosphaerium is now placed in the family Chlorellaceae.[4]