Yellow-green algae


Yellow-green algae or the Xanthophyceae 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, 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.

Classifications

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. Pascher included the Heterokontae in the Chrysophyta. In 1930, Allorge renamed the group as Xanthophyceae.
The monadoid and also sometimes the amoeboid species have been included by some authors in the Protozoa or Protista, as order Heterochloridina, as class Xanthomonadina, with orders Heterochloridea and Rhizochloridea, as order Heterochlorida, as order Heteromonadida, or as subclass Heterochloridia. These groups are called ambiregnal protists, as names for these have been published under either or both of the ICZN and the ICN.

AlgaeBase (2020)

Xanthophyceae have been divided into the following five orders in some classification systems:
Classification according to Lüther :
  • Class Heterokontae
  • * Order Chloromonadales
  • * Order Confervales

    Pascher (1912)

Classification according to Pascher :
  • Heterokontae
  • * Heterochloridales
  • * Heterocapsales
  • * Heterococcales
  • * Heterotrichales
  • * Heterosiphonales

    Fritsch (1935)

Fritsch recognizes the following orders in the class Xanthophyceae:
  • Order Heterochloridales
  • * Family Heterochloridaceae
  • * Family Heterocapsaceae
  • * Family Mischococcaceae
  • * Family Heterorhizidaceae
  • Order Heterococcales
  • * Family Halosphaeraceae
  • * Family Myxochloridaceae
  • * Family Chlorobotrydaceae
  • * Family Chlorotheciaceae
  • * Family Ophiocytiaceae
  • Order Heterotrichales
  • * Family Tribonemataceae
  • * Family Heterocloniaceae
  • Order Heterosiphonales
  • * Family Botrydiaceae

    Smith (1938)

In the classification of Smith , there are six orders in the class Xanthophyceae, placed in the division Chrysophyta:
Pascher recognizes 6 classes in Heterokontae:
  • Class Heterochloridineae
  • Class Rhizochloridineae
  • Class Hetcrocapsineae
  • Class Heterococcincae
  • Class Hetcrotrichineae
  • Class Heterosiphonineae

    Copeland (1956)

Copeland treated the group as order Vaucheriacea:
  • Kingdom Protoctista
  • * Phylum Phaeophyta
  • ** Class Heterokonta
  • *** Order Vaucheriacea
  • **** Family Chlorosaccacea
  • **** Family Mischococcacea
  • **** Family Chlorotheciacea
  • **** Family Botryococcacea
  • **** Family Stipitococcacea
  • **** Family Chloramoebacea
  • **** Family Tribonematacea
  • **** Family Phyllosiphonacea

    Ettl (1978), van den Hoek et al. (1995)

In a classification presented by van den Hoek, Mann and Jahns , based on the level of organization of the thallus, there are seven orders:
These are the same orders of the classification of Ettl, an updated version of the classic work by Pascher. Ultrastructural and molecular studies shows that the Mischococcales might be paraphyletic, and the Tribonematales and Botrydiales polyphyletic, and suggests two orders at most be used until the relationships within the division are sorted.

Maistro et al. (2009)

Informal groups, according to Maistro et al. :
  • Botrydiopsalean clade
  • Chlorellidialean clade
  • Tribonematalean clade
  • Vaucherialean clade
Unicellular flagellates, amoeboid and palmelloid taxa were not included in this study.

Adl et al. (2005, 2012)

According to Adl et al. :
  • Tribonematales
  • Vaucheriales