Polytomella

Polytomella is a genus of green algae in the family Dunaliellaceae.^[1] Polytomella is a free-living, flagellated, nonphotosynthetic green alga with a highly reduced, linear fragmented mitochondrial genome.^[2][3] Polytomella, as it exists today, bears evidence of once having a functional photosynthetic plastid which has over evolutionary time changed such that it would appear now to have no genome or gene expressing mechanisms remaining to it.^[4] Having transitioned completely to heterotrophy, Polytomella uses organic acids, alcohols and monosaccharides as its carbon source.^[3][5][6] Despite being an evolutionary descendant of the green algae, Polytomella is a colourless organism because it has lost its photosynthetic ability.^[6]

Polytomella
Polytomella agilis
Scientific classification
Clade:	Viridiplantae
Division:	Chlorophyta
Class:	Chlorophyceae
Order:	Chlamydomonadales
Family:	Dunaliellaceae
Genus:	Polytomella Aragão
Species
Polytomella agilis Polytomella caeca Polytomella capuana Polytomella magna Polytomella papillata Polytomella parva

References

1. Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. "Polytomella". AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway.
2. Smith, DR; Lee, RW (2011). "Nucleotide diversity of the colorless green alga Polytomella parva (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta): high for the mitochondrial telomeres, surprisingly low everywhere else". The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 58 (5): 471–3. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2011.00569.x. PMID 21762422.
3. Inwood, W; Yoshihara, C; Zalpuri, R; Kim, KS; Kustu, S (November 2008). "The ultrastructure of a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutant strain lacking phytoene synthase resembles that of a colorless alga". Molecular Plant. 1 (6): 925–37. doi:10.1093/mp/ssn046. PMC 2902904. PMID 19825593.
4. "Plant Phys". m.plantphysiol.org. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
5. Links, J.; Verloop, A.; Havinga, E. (December 1961). "Some growth experiments withPolytoma uvella on synthetic media". Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. 27 (1): 76–80. doi:10.1007/BF02538425.
6. Cruz, Vidal; Gittleson, Stephen (1981). "The genus Polytomella: A review of classification, morphology, life cycle, metabolism, and motility". Archiv für Protistenkunde. 124 (1–2): 1–28. doi:10.1016/s0003-9365(81)80001-2. Retrieved 25 September 2015.