Navicula

{{Short description|Genus of diatoms}}

{{Other uses|Navicula (disambiguation)}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Navicula reinhardtii.jpeg

| image_caption = Navicula reinhardtii

| image_upright = 1.2

| taxon = Navicula

| authority = Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1822

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = *List of Navicula species

| type_species = Navicula tripunctata

}}

Navicula is a genus of boat-shaped diatom (single-celled photosynthetic organisms), comprising over 1,200 species,{{cite web |author=M.D. Guiry|author-link=Michael D. Guiry|editor1=Guiry, M.D. |editor2=Guiry, G.M.|date=2015|title=AlgaeBase| publisher=World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway|url=http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=pdae871a111622f14&sk=0 |access-date=2015-08-15}} though many Navicula species likely do not belong in the genus strictly speaking. Navicula is Latin for "small ship", and also a term in English for a boat-shaped incense-holder.Oxford English Dictionary, "Navicula. 3" Navicula is a cosmopolitan genus and species are present in both freshwater and marine environments, typically attached to surfaces (i.e. benthic).

Description

Navicula species are pennate diatoms. Their valves are typically elliptical, though some species have more pinched ends than others. Navicula cells have two chloroplasts, one along each side of the valve along the girdle bands.

Mobility

Navicula diatoms are highly motile and move through a gliding movement[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzWolPrYKBw Navicula Diatom: Youtube video]{{cite journal | pmid = 17575911 | doi=10.1007/BF02932151 | volume=52 | issue=2 | title=Survival and motility of diatoms Navicula grimmei and Nitzschia palea affected by some physical and chemical factors | journal=Folia Microbiol (Praha) | pages=127–34 | last1 = Gupta | first1 = S | last2 = Agrawal | first2 = SC| year=2007 | s2cid=20030370 }}J Microbiol Methods. 2013 Mar;92(3):349-54. doi: 10.1016/j.mimet.2013.01.006. Epub 2013 Jan 18. Semi-circular microgrooves to observe active movements of individual Navicula pavillardii cells. Umemura K1, Haneda T, Tanabe M, Suzuki A, Kumashiro Y, Itoga K, Okano T, Mayama S. This is done through excretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). One form of EPS surrounds the outside of the cell and another is excreted through a slit in the frustule called a raphe, allowing the cell to glide along a track.{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Lei |last2=Weng |first2=Ding |last3=Du |first3=Chuan |last4=Wang |first4=Jiadao |last5=Cao |first5=Shan |title=Contribution of frustules and mucilage trails to the mobility of diatom Navicula sp. |journal=Scientific Reports |date=14 May 2019 |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=7342 |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-43663-z |pmid=31089153 |pmc=6517400 |bibcode=2019NatSR...9.7342C }}

References

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