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First, in diatoms, and likely some other algae, there is a urea cycle. ... Photosynthetic diatoms that find themselves in an environment absent of oxygen and/or ...
Many dinoflagellates are photosynthetic, but a large fraction of these are in fact mixotrophic, combining photosynthesis with ingestion of prey (phagotrophy and myzocytosis). [6] [7] In terms of number of species, dinoflagellates are one of the largest groups of marine eukaryotes, although substantially smaller than diatoms. [8]
Algae (UK: / ˈ æ l ɡ iː / AL-ghee, US: / ˈ æ l dʒ iː / AL-jee; [3] sg.: alga / ˈ æ l ɡ ə / AL-gə) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotes, which include species from multiple distinct clades.
These have unicellular algae as endosymbionts, from diverse lineages such as the green algae, red algae, golden algae, diatoms, and dinoflagellates. [93] Mixotrophic foraminifers are particularly common in nutrient-poor oceanic waters. [95] Some forams are kleptoplastic, retaining chloroplasts from ingested algae to conduct photosynthesis. [96]
They account for about half of global photosynthetic activity and at least half of the oxygen production, despite amounting to only about 1% of the global plant biomass. Phytoplankton are very diverse, comprising photosynthesizing bacteria (cyanobacteria) and various unicellular protist groups (notably the diatoms).
Diatom frustules have been accumulating for over 100 million years, leaving rich deposits of nano and microstructured silicon oxide in the form of diatomaceous earth around the globe. The evolutionary causes for the generation of nano and microstructured silica by photosynthetic algae are not yet clear.
Diatoms and brown algae are examples of algae with secondary chloroplasts derived from endosymbiotic red algae, which they acquired via phagocytosis. Algae exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies, from simple asexual cell division to complex forms of sexual reproduction via spores.
Diatoms are major contributors to global carbon cycles because they are the most important autotrophs in most marine habitats. [30] The brown algae, including familiar seaweeds like wrack and kelp, are major autotrophs of the intertidal and subtidal marine habitats. [ 31 ]