From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Picobiliphyta are a group of eukaryotic algae, discovered in 2007,
which are found among the smallest members of photosynthetic
They are sometimes called "biliphytes".
At the end of the 1990s with the European project "Picodiv" it
would be clarified which organisms occur in picoplankton. In addition, for a period of
two years, samples were taken in the Atlantic, in the
Mediterranean, before the coast of Scotland, Alaska and Norway.
Picobiliphyta were found particularly within the nutrient-poor
ranges from cold coastal seas, where they can constitute up to 50
percent of the biomass.
Affinities to other
investigated gene sequences of the 18S gene, common to all cells. The identity of new organisms can
be deduced from a comparison of familiar and unfamiliar gene
sequences. “The gene sequences found in these algae could not be
associated with any previously known group of organisms”, explain
Dr Klaus Valentin and Dr. Linda Medlin, co-authors of the study and
biologists at the Alfred
Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven. The algae
in this study were found in plankton samples originating from
various regions of the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The
scientists have discovered a group of organisms which, despite
being completely new to science, have a wide distribution. “This is
a good indication for how much there is still to discover in the
oceans, especially using molecular tools”, says Valentin.
Apart from the unfamiliar gene sequences, the researchers also
 In red algae, for example, these proteins occur
as pigments. But in this newly discovered group of algae, the
phycobiliproteins appear to be contained inside the plastids,
where the photosynthesis occurs. Hence, it
provides a clear indication that the researchers are dealing with
previously unidentified group of algae. Referring to their small
size and the presence of phycobiliproteins, the researchers named
the new group "Picobiliphyta".
Some sources group picobiliphytes within the cryptomonads-haptophytes assemblage.
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al. (January 2007). "Picobiliphytes: a marine
picoplanktonic algal group with unknown affinities to other
eukaryotes". Science 315 (5809):
253–5. doi:10.1126/science.1136264. PMID 17218530. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=17218530.
Okamoto, N.; Chantangsi, C.; Horák,
A.; Leander, B.; Keeling, P. (2009). "Molecular Phylogeny and
Description of the Novel Katablepharid Roombia truncata gen. Et sp.
Nov., and Establishment of the Hacrobia Taxon nov". PloS
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^ "Bizarre New Form of Life
Found in Arctic Ocean, Scientists Announce". http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070111-new-lifeform.html. Retrieved
- ^ Henrik Aronsson; Anna Stina Sandelius (2008).
The Chloroplast: Interactions with the Environment (Plant Cell
Monographs). Berlin: Springer. pp. 9. ISBN
- ^ "Eukaryotes". http://tolweb.org/Eukaryotes/3. Retrieved