Acetabularia
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Acetabularia are giant (0.5 to 10cm long) unicellular and uninucleate marine green algae, with a characteristic umbrella-like shape. They are most famous from the experiments of Joachim Hammerling in the 1930's, where by transplanting parts of A. mediterranea and A. crenulata he showed that the genetic information of eukaryotes is contained in the nucleus. Species such as A. acetabulum are still used as model organisms for research on nucleus/cytoplasm relationships, cytoskeletal organisation and circadian rhythms.
There are about 30 species of Acetabularia (see: http://www.algaebase.org/), including:
- Acetabularia acetabulum
- Acetabularia caliculus
- Acetabularia crenulata (from Gulf of Mexico)
- Acetabularia dentata
- Acetabularia farlowii
- Acetabularia kilneri
- Acetabularia major
- Acetabularia mediterranea (mermaid's wine glass, from the Mediterranean Sea)
- Acetabularia peniculus
- Acetabularia ryukyuensis
- Acetabularia schenkii
[edit] Literature
- Hammerling, J. 1953. "Nucleo-cytoplasmic relationships in the development of Acetabularia". J. Intern. Rev. Cytol. 2: 475-498.
- Mandoli, Dina F. (1998). "How Is the Complex Architecture of a Giant Unicell Built?" Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 49: 173-198.
