Volvox and volvocine green algae

Umen, James G.

doi:10.1186/s13227-020-00158-7

Cited by 30 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…popular model organism of developmental biology-a number of review articles in recent years are devoted to the above-mentioned aspects of ontogeny of this alga (Herron, 2016;Matt and Umen, 2016;Desnitskiy, 2018Desnitskiy, , 2019Desnitskiy et al, 2018;Umen, 2020;etc. ).…”

Section: Methods and Models Of Developmental Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Volvox as a Model for Studying Cell Death and Senescence

Desnitskiy

2021

Russ J Dev Biol

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The spherical green alga Volvox consists of several hundred or thousand of somatic cells that undergo terminal differentiation, senescence and death, and a small number of gonidia (asexual reproductive cells) that give rise to the next generation. In the first part of this paper, the ontogenetic diversity of the genus Volvox is briefly considered, as well as the mechanisms of differentiation into the two types of cells mentioned above, which have been thoroughly studied during recent years in Volvox carteri. Then, a detailed critical analysis of the literature and some of my own data on senescence and cell death (mainly in V. carteri and, to a lesser extent, in V. aureus) was carried out, and it was noted that this aspect of Volvox developmental biology has not been sufficiently studied. Some perspectives of further research of the processes of cell death and senescence in representatives of the genus Volvox in a comparative aspect are indicated.

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Section: Methods and Models Of Developmental Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Volvox as a Model for Studying Cell Death and Senescence

Desnitskiy

2021

Russ J Dev Biol

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“…Unfortunately, we were unable to synchronize B. braunii cells of either race. Although cells in other colonial algae like Volvox or Haematococcus pluvialis are able to be synchronized [84,85], there are no other reports of synchronization for B. braunii. A difference between our study and that of Hirose et al [25] is the strain of the A race used; they used a race A strain from the Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas (UTEX 2441), while we used the A race Yamanaka strain [5].…”

Section: Synchronization Of B Braunii Culturesmentioning

confidence: 98%

In Silico and Cellular Differences Related to the Cell Division Process between the A and B Races of the Colonial Microalga Botryococcus braunii

et al. 2021

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Botryococcus braunii produce liquid hydrocarbons able to be processed into combustion engine fuels. Depending on the growing conditions, the cell doubling time can be up to 6 days or more, which is a slow growth rate in comparison with other microalgae. Few studies have analyzed the cell cycle of B. braunii. We did a bioinformatic comparison between the protein sequences for retinoblastoma and cyclin-dependent kinases from the A (Yamanaka) and B (Showa) races, with those sequences from other algae and Arabidopsis thaliana. Differences in the number of cyclin-dependent kinases and potential retinoblastoma phosphorylation sites between the A and B races were found. Some cyclin-dependent kinases from both races seemed to be phylogenetically more similar to A. thaliana than to other microalgae. Microscopic observations were done using several staining procedures. Race A colonies, but not race B, showed some multinucleated cells without chlorophyll. An active mitochondrial net was detected in those multinucleated cells, as well as being defined in polyphosphate bodies. These observations suggest differences in the cell division processes between the A and B races of B. braunii.

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“…The volvocines have unicellular members, such as the well-studied model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and dozens of larger multicellular or colonial forms that are organized into genera based on cell number, morphology and organismal size. The most complex volvocine species are in the genus Volvox where individuals can have thousands of cells and exhibit full or partial germ-soma differentiation (Umen 2020). Molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed that several volvocine genera, including Volvox, are polyphyletic (Herron and Michod 2008).…”

Section: Volvocine Algaementioning

confidence: 99%

Switching it up: algal insights into sexual transitions

Coelho

Umen

2021

Plant Reprod

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While the process of meiosis is highly conserved across eukaryotes, the sexual systems that govern life cycle phase transitions are surprisingly labile. Switches between sexual systems have profound evolutionary and ecological consequences, in particular for plants, but our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms and ultimate causes underlying these transitions is still surprisingly incomplete. We explore here the idea that brown and green algae may be interesting comparative models that can increase our understanding of relevant processes in plant reproductive biology, from evolution of gamete dimorphism, gametogenesis, sex determination and transitions in sex-determining systems.

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Volvox and volvocine green algae

Cited by 30 publications

References 78 publications

Volvox as a Model for Studying Cell Death and Senescence

Volvox as a Model for Studying Cell Death and Senescence

In Silico and Cellular Differences Related to the Cell Division Process between the A and B Races of the Colonial Microalga Botryococcus braunii

Switching it up: algal insights into sexual transitions

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