Prochlorococcus

Abstract

Pro.chlor.o.coc.cus. Gr. prep. pro , before, primitive; Gr. masc. adj. chlôros green; Gr. masc. n. kokkos , grain or kernel; N.L. masc. n. Prochlorococcus , primitive green kernel (cell). Cyanobacteriota / Cyanophyceae / “Synechococcales” / Synechococcaceae / Prochlorococcus The genus Prochlorococcus currently includes the species Prochlorococcus marinus . Cells are oxygenic photoautotrophs that lack phycobilisomes. Prochlorococcus is prototrophic, requiring no organic substrates for growth, although some strains can import several types of organic carbon. Cells do not fix dinitrogen. Cells are small non‐motile cocci that possess no known extracellular appendages. The major core lipids of cell membranes are sulfolipids and glycolipids. Prochlorococcus is strictly marine and numerically dominates the phytoplankton community in the oligotrophic region of the ocean. DNA G + C content (mol%) : 31–51. Type species : Prochlorococcus marinus Chisholm et al. 1992, VL79.