Plants of the Gila Wilderness
Presented in Association with the
Western New Mexico University Department
of Natural Sciences
Asterochloris sp.
Asterochloris is a unicellular green alga, in the Trebouxiaceae, approximately 8-10 microns in diameter that is the photobiont associated with most Cladonia lichen species. The cell of Asterochloris, like Trebouxia, contains a large green structure (chloroplast) known as a chromatophore that takes up most of the volume of the cell. The chromatophore is much more lobed in Asterochloris, and the pyrenoid not obvious, perhaps obscured by the lobulation. The pyrenoid is the site of CO concentration for the function of RUBISCO and carbon fixation.
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Asterochloris species, algal cells in Cladonia cf. pyxidata thallus, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, Little Cherry Creek Ranch Road, September 21, 2024
Asterochloris species, algal cells in Cladonia cf. pyxidata thallus, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Pinos Altos Range, Little Cherry Creek Ranch Road, September 21, 2024
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