Algae, Biofuels, Genomics, PUFAs, Eustigmatophyceae, Molecular phylo-genetics, Nannochloropsis, Ochrophyta, Stramenopiles, Taxonomy

Eustigmatophyceae (eustigmatophytes) are a distinct lineage of ochrophyte(stramenopile) algae with a relatively small number (~30) of described species,but with evidence for a substantial taxonomic diversity yet to be explored.Eustigmatophytes are all unicellular coccoid algae, usually spherical or ovoid,but sometimes with a more distinctive shape (e.g., stipitate, tetrahedral, or withbranched projections). Most eustigmatophytes live in freshwater, but some arecommon in terrestrial habitats and one subgroup is mostly marine.