Eustigmatophytes, Xanthophytes, Raphidophytes, and Cryptophytes
摘要
The Eustigmatophytes (Class Eustigmatophyceae), Xanthophytes (Class Xanthophyceae), and the Raphidophytes (Class Raphidophyceae), also within the kingdom Chromista, belong to the phylum Heterokontophyta. Cryptophytes are in their own phylum, Cryptista. New genetic information has facilitated the proper taxonomic placement in Eustigmatophytes and Xanthophytes, and many have been reassigned between them. The Eustigmatophytes family consists of only 30 to 33 described genera. They are all unicellular algae and most live in freshwater habitats or damp soils, and no sexual reproduction has been recorded. Eustigmatophytes have chlorophyll a, and no other type of chlorophyll, and lack fucoxanthin. They have two dominant xanthophylls, violaxanthin (orange color) and vaucheriaxanthin, which give them a yellow-green appearance, and these pigments are part of the photosynthetic array that captures far-red light that is passed on to chlorophyll a. A large red to orange lipid globule is common, as seen in Vischeria (see Fig. 5.1). A few members of Eustigmatophytes are known to accumulate lipids, making them a valuable candidate for biofuel production. The cell wall is composed mostly of cellulose, but the exact composition has not been determined for most of the organisms in this group.