Ostreococcus

Ostreococcus
Transmission electron microscopy
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Chlorophyta Class: Prasinophyceae Order: Mamiellales Family: Mamiellaceae Genus: Ostreococcus C. Courties & M.-J. Chrétiennot-Dinet (1995)
Species
O. tauri

Ostreococcus is a genus of unicellular coccoid green alga belonging to the class Prasinophyceae. It was discovered in 1994 in the Thau lagoon by CourtiesCourties, C. et al. (1994). Smallest eukaryotic organism. Nature 370: 255. and has been since been found in many oceanic regions. It is the smallest known free-living eukaryote with an average size of 0.8 µm. Its genome sequence was published in 2006Derelle, E. et al. (2006). Genome analysis of the smallest free-living eukaryote Ostreococcus tauri unveils many unique features. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103: 11647-52..

Ostreococcus tauri has a nucleus with 14 linear chromosomes, one chloroplast, and several mitochondria.Courties, C. et al. (1998). J. Phycol 34: 844.

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