Cryptomonad

A unicellular, usually biflagellate alga in the group Cryptophyta. Cryptomonads have distinctive cell structures and often contain chloroplasts acquired through secondary endosymbiosis.

Connect

Cryptophyta: A eukaryotic algal group that includes cryptomonads, many of which have chloroplasts derived from red algae. This is the taxonomic group to which cryptomonads belong.
Flagellum: A whip-like cellular appendage that propels or senses a cell. Cryptomonads typically swim using two flagella.
Endosymbiotic theory: The theory that some eukaryotic organelles originated as free-living organisms incorporated into ancestral cells. It provides the broad evolutionary framework for cryptomonad plastid origins.
Phytoplankton: Microscopic photosynthetic organisms that drift in aquatic environments. Cryptomonads are members of this diverse producer community.
Periplast: A layer of protein plates beneath the cell membrane in many cryptomonads. Its distinctive plates help define cryptomonad cell structure.
Chloroplast: A photosynthetic organelle that converts light energy into chemical energy. In photosynthetic cryptomonads, this organelle powers carbon fixation.
Red algae: A major lineage of algae containing photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll a and phycobiliproteins. Cryptomonad plastids trace their ancestry to a red-algal endosymbiont.
Aquatic food web: A network of feeding relationships among organisms in an aquatic ecosystem. Cryptomonads can transfer photosynthetic production to grazers and higher consumers.
Ejectisome: A coiled, explosive organelle that can discharge a threadlike structure when stimulated. Cryptomonads possess ejectisomes, often arranged beneath the cell surface.
Photosynthesis: The process by which organisms convert light energy into chemical energy, often fixing carbon dioxide. Cryptomonad chloroplasts perform this process using captured light.