Chlamydomonadales, also known as Volvocales, are an order of

flagellate A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like appendages called flagella. The word ''flagellate'' also describes a particular construction (or level of organization) characteristic of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes and their ...

d or pseudociliated

green algae The green algae (singular: green alga) are a group consisting of the Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister which contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta. The land plants (Embryophytes) have emerged deep in the Charophyte alga as ...

, specifically of the Chlorophyceae.See the

NCBI The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The ...

br>webpage on Chlamydomonadales
Data extracted from the Chlamydomonadales can form planar or spherical colonies. These vary from ''

Gonium ''Gonium'' is a genus of colonial algae, a member of the order Chlamydomonadales. Typical colonies have 4 to 16 cells, all the same size, arranged in a flat plate, with no anterior-posterior differentiation. In a colony of 16 cells, four are ...

'' (four to 32 cells) up to ''

Volvox ''Volvox'' is a polyphyletic genus of chlorophyte green algae in the family Volvocaceae. It forms spherical colonies of up to 50,000 cells. They live in a variety of freshwater habitats, and were first reported by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1700 ...

'' (500 cells or more). Each cell has two

flagella A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...

, and is similar in appearance to ''

Chlamydomonas ''Chlamydomonas'' is a genus of green algae consisting of about 150 speciesSmith, G.M. 1955 ''Cryptogamic Botany Volume 1. Algae and Fungi'' McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc of unicellular flagellates, found in stagnant water and on damp soil, ...

'', with the flagella throughout the colony moving in coordination. Both asexual and

sexual reproduction Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete ( haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote tha ...

occur. In the former, cells divide until they form new colonies, which are then released. In the smaller forms, typically all cells are involved, but larger forms have anterior vegetative and posterior reproductive cells. Sexual reproduction varies from

isogamy Isogamy is a form of sexual reproduction that involves gametes of the same morphology (indistinguishable in shape and size), found in most unicellular eukaryotes. Because both gametes look alike, they generally cannot be classified as male or fe ...

(both genders produce flagellated

gamete A gamete (; , ultimately ) is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as sex cells. In species that produce t ...

s of equal size) to

oogamy Oogamy is an extreme form of anisogamy where the gametes differ in both size and form. In oogamy the large female gamete (also known as ovum) is immobile, while the small male gamete (also known as sperm) is mobile. Oogamy is a common form of a ...

(one gender produces a much larger, nonmotile gamete). The classification of the Chlamydomonadales varies. Very often they are taken to include the orders Volvocales and Dunallielales, which contain closely related unicellular flagellates, as suborders. Colony inversion is believed to have arisen twice in this order. Spheroidal colony formation differs between the two lineages: rotation of daughter protoplasts during successive cell divisions in

Astrephomene ''Astrephomene'' is a genus of green algae in the family Goniaceae, order Chlamydomonadales. The genus was first described in 1937 by Pocock and named by Pockock in 1953 (Stein 1958). Taxonomy It was formerly placed in the monotypic family As ...

, and inversion after cell divisions in the

Volvocaceae The Volvocaceae are a family of unicellular or colonial biflagellates, including the typical genus ''Volvox''. The family was named by Ehrenberg in 1834,From p. 281: ''"VOLVOCINA Nova Familia."'' (Volvocina New Family.) ote: According to p. ...

.Yamashita S, Arakaki Y, Kawai-Toyooka H, Noga A, Hirono M, Nozaki H
Alternative evolution of a spheroidal colony in volvocine algae: developmentalanalysis of embryogenesis in Astrephomene (Volvocales, Chlorophyta).
BMC Evol Biol. 2016 Nov 9;16(1):243. PubMed ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5103382. CC-BY icon

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Doi 10

Families

AlgaeBase AlgaeBase is a global species database of information on all groups of algae, both marine and freshwater, as well as sea-grass. History AlgaeBase began in March 1996, founded by Michael Guiry. Text was copied from this source, which is avai ...

accepted the following families: * Actinochloridaceae Korshikov * Asteromonadaceae Péterfi * Carteriaceae Pascher * Characiochloridaceae Skuja *

Characiosiphonaceae The Characiosiphonaceae are a family of algae in the order Chlamydomonadales Chlamydomonadales, also known as Volvocales, are an order of flagellated or pseudociliated green algae, specifically of the Chlorophyceae.See the NCBIbr>webpage on ...

Iyengar *

Chlamydomonadaceae Chlamydomonadaceae is a family of algae within the order Chlamydomonadales.See the NCBIbr>webpage on Chlamydomonadaceae Data extracted from the Genera As accepted by WoRMS; * '' Agloë'' * ''Brachiomonas'' * '' Carteria'' * '' Cercidium'' ...

F.Stein *

Chlorangiellaceae Chlorangiellaceae is a green algae family in the order Chlamydomonadales Chlamydomonadales, also known as Volvocales, are an order of flagellated or pseudociliated green algae, specifically of the Chlorophyceae.See the NCBIbr>webpage on Chla ...

Bourrelly ex Fott *

Chlorochytriaceae Chlorochytriaceae is a family of algae within the order Chlamydomonadales Chlamydomonadales, also known as Volvocales, are an order of flagellated or pseudociliated green algae, specifically of the Chlorophyceae.See the NCBIbr>webpage on Chl ...

Setchell & N.L.Gardner *

Chlorococcaceae Chlorococcaceae is a family of green algae, in the order Chlamydomonadales. List of genera * '' Apodochloris'' * '' Bracteacoccus'' * '' Chlorococcopsis'' * ''Chlorococcum ''Chlorococcum'' is a genus of green algae, in the family Chlorococca ...

Blackman & Tansley * Chlorosarcinaceae Bourrelly ex Groover & Bold * Dunaliellaceae T.A.Christensen * Goniaceae (Pascher) Pascher *

Haematococcaceae Haematococcaceae is a family of green algae in the order Chlamydomonadales. See also * Algaculture * Astaxanthin Astaxanthin is a keto- carotenoid within a group of chemical compounds known as terpenes. Astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxa ...

G.M.Smith * Hormotilaceae Korshikov * Hypnomonadaceae Korshikov *

Palmellaceae The Palmellaceae are a family (biology), family of green algae, specifically of the Chlamydomonadales. References External links Scientific references Scientific databases

Chlorophyceae families Chlamydomonadales {{Chlorophyceae-stu ...

Decaisne * Palmellopsidaceae Korshikov * Phacotaceae Francé * Pleurastraceae K.R.Mattox & K.D.Stewart * Protosiphonaceae Blackman & Tansley * Sphaerocystidaceae Fott ex Tsarenko * Sphaerodictyaceae C.-C.Jao * Spondylomoraceae Korshikov * Tetrabaenaceae H.Nozaki & M.Ito *

Tetrasporaceae The Tetrasporaceae are a family of green algae, specifically of the Chlamydomonadales.See the NCBIbr>webpage on Tetrasporaceae Data extracted from the Genera , AlgaeBase AlgaeBase is a global species database of information on all groups ...

Wittrock *

Ehrenberg * Wislouchiaceae Molinari & Guiry

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q8345469, from2=Q1067225 Chlorophyta orders Chlorophyceae