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Fig. 1 | BMC Evolutionary Biology

Fig. 1

From: Embryogenesis of flattened colonies implies the innovation required for the evolution of spheroidal colonies in volvocine green algae

Fig. 1

Schematic representation of the phylogenetic relationships of volvocine green algae and evolution of their body plans. Volvocine green algae consist of organisms of various complexities, ranging from unicellular Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to multicellular Volvox, which exhibits germ-soma differentiation. The evolution of spheroidal colonies is thought to have occurred twice, in the ancestors of Astrephomene and in those of Volvocaceae [4,5,6]. The formation of spheroidal colonies during embryogenesis is based on different cellular mechanisms in the two lineages (Additional file 6: Figure S1) [7]. There are two extant lineages with ancestral flattened colonies, the genus Gonium and the family Tetrabaenaceae. The phylogeny is based on a previous report [5]. All drawings and photographs represent lateral views of individuals with anterior sides (the direction of swimming) oriented toward the top of the figure. The photographs of Tetrabaena, Astrephomene, and Volvox are from a previous study [7]. The other photographs are original

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