Volvox

Volvox, genus of some 20 species of freshwater green algae (division Chlorophyta) found worldwide. Volvox form spherical or oval hollow colonies that contain some 500 to 60,000 cells embedded in a gelatinous wall and that are often just visible with the naked eye.

Volvox colonies were first recorded by Dutch microscopist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1700 and are widely studied as a genetic model of morphogenesis (how organisms develop specialized cells and tissues). Volvox also exhibit differentiation between somatic (non-sex cells) and reproductive cells, a phenomenon considered by some biologists to be significant in tracing the evolution of higher animals from microorganisms.

The somatic cells of a Volvox colony each feature two flagella (whiplike appendages), several contractile vacuoles (fluid-regulating organelles), a single chloroplast (the site of photosynthesis), and an eyespot used for light reception. Neighbouring cells are often joined together by strands of cytoplasm, which enable cell-to-cell communication, and the colony moves through water by the coordinated movement of the flagella. The photosynthetic colonies are usually organized so that cells with larger eyespots are grouped at one side to facilitate phototaxis (movement toward light) for photosynthesis, and the reproductive cells are grouped at the opposite side.

Most species of Volvox reproduce both asexually and sexually, and some, such as Volvox carteri, switch primary modes of reproduction at least once each year. Asexual colonies have reproductive cells known as gonidia, which produce small daughter colonies that are eventually released from the parent as they mature. In sexual colonies, developing ova or spermatozoa replace gonidia, and fertilization results in zygotes that form a cyst and are released from the parent colony after its death. Thick-walled zygotes formed late in the summer serve as winter resting stages.

Volvox can be found in ponds, puddles, and bodies of still fresh water throughout the world. As autotrophs, they contribute to the production of oxygen and serve as food for a number of aquatic organisms, especially the microscopic invertebrates called rotifers. One of the most-common species, V. aureus, can form harmful algal blooms in warm waters with a high nitrogen content.