Sphaeropleales

Taxobox
name = Sphaeropleales
domain = Eukaryota
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Chlorophyta
classis = Chlorophyceae
ordo = Sphaeropleales
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Sphaeroplea"
ordo_authority = ITIS

Cladobox
color = lightblue
name = Sphaeropleales
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Chlorophyta
classis = Chlorophyceae
ordo = Sphaeropleales
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Hydrodictyaceae"
"Neochloridaceae"
"Scenedesmaceae"
"Selenastraceae"
"Sphaeropleaceae"

In taxonomy, the Sphaeropleales are an order of green algae that used to be called Chlorococcales. This order includes vegetatively non-motile unicellular or colonial taxa that have biflagellate zoospores with flagella that are directly opposed in direction (the DO arrangement): "Sphaeroplea", "Atractomorpha", "Neochloris", "Hydrodictyon", and "Pediastrum". All of these taxa have basal body core connections.

With an increase in the number of taxa for which sequence data are available, there is evidence of an expanded DO clade that includes additional zoosporic ("Bracteacoccus", "Schroederia") and some strictly autosporic genera such as "Ankistrodesmus", "Scenedesmus", "Selanastrum", "Monoraphidium", and "Pectodictyon".

Monophyly of the DO clade is generally weakly supported by phylogenetic analysis of molecular data, even those that have used data from two genes.

References

Lewis, L.A, McCourt, R.M. (2004) Green algae and the origin of land plants. "AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 91" (10): 1535-1556 OCT