ZOOCHLORELLA

plural Zoochlorellae, any small green alga (often Chlorella) or, sometimes, flagellate protozoan (e.g., the chlamydomonad Carteria) that lives within the bodies of various freshwater protozoans and invertebrates. Zoochlorellae often colour their hosts green (e.g., green hydra and green Paramecium bursaria). As symbionts, zoochlorellae use carbon dioxide and nitrogenous and phosphorous wastes and provide oxygen and useful nutrients. Sometimes zoochlorellae are digested by the host, and they can survive independently of it. They may be passed from one generation to another in host germ cells.