Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - a fast swimmer serves as a model organism
The light microscopic pictures show the 10 micrometer-long green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with its two cilia (top) and the eyespot area (bottom) which is yellow-orange coloured due to its carotenoid content. Photos: © Thomas Nolte and Maria Mittag, University Jena
Phycologists of the Botanical Society of Germany have selected Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as alga of the year 2014. This unicellular green alga is distributed throughout the world. It is able to sense its light environment, is a fast swimmer and is highly appreciated by algal and plant researchers as well as medical scientists as a model organism. The tiny alga has become an ideal organism for studying a variety of biological questions including a specific diurnal behavior which is triggered by an endogenous clock. Its intriguing features include its way of light perception using a primitive visual system and the transfer of the information to motile cilia; and it can protect itself from bursting by discharging excessive water. Chlamydomonas even provides the basis for the establishment of novel scientific areas in neurobiology and medicine, such as optogenetics where genetically modified cells are applied as ‘light switches’.
