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Ostreococcus
	Transmission electron microscopy
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae;
Division:	Chlorophyta;
Class:	Prasinophyceae;
Order:	Mamiellales;
Family:	Mamiellaceae;
Genus:	Ostreococcus; C. Courties & M.-J. Chrétiennot-Dinet (1995)
Species
	O. tauri; O. lucimarinus;

Ostreococcus is a genus of unicellular coccoid green alga belonging to the class Prasinophyceae. It was discovered in 1994 in the Thau lagoon by Courties and Chretiennot-Dinet,^[1] and has since been found in many oceanic regions. It is the smallest known free-living eukaryote with an average size of 0.8 µm. The genome sequence (12.56 Mb nuclear genome) of O. tauri was published in 2006.^[2]

Ostreococcus tauri has a nucleus (with 20 linear chromosomes), one chloroplast, and several mitochondria.^[3]

[edit] References

^ Courties, C. et al. (1994). Smallest eukaryotic organism. Nature 370: 255.
^ Derelle, E. et al. (2006). Genome analysis of the smallest free-living eukaryote Ostreococcus tauri unveils many unique features. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103: 11647-52.
^ Courties, C. et al. (1998). J. Phycol 34: 844.

[Courties_95-0] Courties, C. et al. (1994). Smallest eukaryotic organism. Nature 370: 255.

[Derelle_06-1] Derelle, E. et al. (2006). Genome analysis of the smallest free-living eukaryote Ostreococcus tauri unveils many unique features. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103: 11647-52.

[Courties_98-2] Courties, C. et al. (1998). J. Phycol 34: 844.

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