Stramenopiles Patterson 1989, emend. Adl et al. 2005

Motile cells typically biciliate, typically with heterokont ciliation: anterior cilium with tripartite mastigonemes in two opposite rows and a posterior usually smooth cilium; tubular mitochondrial cristae; typically 4 microtubular kinetosomal roots.

Most Stramenopiles or heterokonts are algae, ranging from the giant multicellular kelp to the unicellular diatoms, which are a primary component of plankton. The name “heterokont” refers to the type of motile life cycle stage, in which the flagellate cells possess two differently shaped flagella.

Ferry Siemensma, created March 3, 2019; last modified February 01, 2021
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