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Choricystis
Genus of algae From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Choricystis is a genus of green algae in the class Trebouxiophyceae, considered a characteristic picophytoplankton in freshwater ecosystems.[1][3] Choricystis, especially the type species Choricystis minor, has been proposed as an effective source of fatty acids for biofuels.[4][5][6] Choricystis algacultures have been shown to survive on wastewater.[7][8] In particular, Choricystis has been proposed as a biological water treatment system for industrial waste produced by the processing of dairy goods.[7]
Choricystis have been found in natural bodies of water in South America,[5] North America, Europe, Asia, and Antarctica.[9] They have been observed as an endosymbiont of freshwater sponges as well as ciliates like Paramecium bursaria.[10][11][12]
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Description
Choricystis consists of solitary cells without a mucilage sheath surrounding them.[13] Cells are uninucleate with a single parietal chloroplast.[1] Chloroplasts lack pyrenoids. Reproduction occurs asexually by the formation of autospores; in field conditions, usually two are produced per cell, but in culture four per cell may be present as well.[13] Zoospores or sexual reproduction have not been observed in this genus.[1]
Identification of species within this genus is difficult because of few distinguishing morphological characters; species are now distinguished from each other using DNA barcodes.[10]
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Use as a biofuel
Triglycerides and other lipids can be transesterified to produce fatty acid methyl esters, the primary component of biodiesel fuels.[14][15] Because of their high lipid content and rate of lipid production, Choricystis algae have been suggested as effective microalgae for industrial biofuel production.[4][5][6][16][17] Molecular profiles of C. minor have noted its high proportion of neutral (as opposed to polar) lipids,[4][8][18][19] considered preferable in biodiesel production.[8][20]
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See also
References
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