Common · Nature

Yellow-green algae

Class of algae

Yellow-green algae or the Xanthophyceae (xanthophytes) are an important group of heterokont algae. Most live in fresh water, but some are found in marine and soil habitats. They vary from single-celled flagellates to simple colonial and filamentous forms.

Xanthophyte chloroplasts contain the photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, β-carotene, and the carotenoid diadinoxanthin. Unlike other Stramenopiles (heterokonts), their chloroplasts do not contain fucoxanthin, which accounts for their lighter colour. Their storage polysaccharide is chrysolaminarin. Xanthophyte cell walls are produced of cellulose and hemicellulose. They appear to be the closest relatives of the brown algae. The species now placed in the Xanthophyceae were formerly included in the Chlorophyceae. In 1899, Lüther created the group Heterokontae for green algae with unequal flagella.

Text: Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 4.0. · Image: Nordisk familjebok (Public domain) ·