Phylogeny of Stramenopiles

Stramenopiles

from TOLWEB:

This grouping of protists arose largely from molecular studies which categorically confirmed that algae (previously referred to as Heterokonts or Chrysophytes) were related to a variety of non algal protists - such as the heterotrophic bicosoecid flagellates and the fungal oomycetes (Leipe et al, 1994). The group was informally named by Patterson (1989) and was based at that time on cytological evidence.

The hairs which define this group are a distinctive subset of hairs encountered in protists, and are distinguished by having a long hollow shaft that gives rise to a small number of fine hairs, and the entire structure inserts into the cell by a basal region. These hairs usually occur on the flagella. A number of supposed stramenopiles are thought (opalines) or known (diatoms) to have lost the hairs. The stramenopiles is a very major grouping of eukaryotes containing some organisms with the largest linear dimensions known in the eukaryotic world (brown algae), as well as ecologically very important organisms - such as the diatoms.

Characteristics

Tubulocristate protists with tripartite tubular hairs or derived from such organisms.

References

Leipe, D.D., Wainright, P.O., Gunderson, J.H., Porter, D., Patterson, D.J.,Valois, F., Himmerich, S. and Sogin, M.L. (1994): The stramenopiles from a molecular perspective: 16S-like rRNA sequences from Labyrinthuloides minuta and Cafeteria roenbergensis. Phycologia. 33:369-377.

Patterson, D.J. (1989): Stramenopiles: chromophytes from a protistan perspective. In: Green J.C., Leadbeater B.S.C. and diver W.L. (eds): The chromophyte algae problems and perspectives, pp. 357-379. Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Sogin, Mitchell L. and Patterson, David J. 1995. Stramenopiles. Version 01 January 1995 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Stramenopiles/2380/1995.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/