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.

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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.

Description

Volvox colony: 1) Chlamydomonas-like cell, 2) Daughter colony, 3) Cytoplasmic bridges, 4) Intercellular gel, 5)
Reproductive cell, 6) Somatic cell.

Volvox is a polyphyletic genus in the volvocine green algae clade.[2] Each mature Volvox colony is composed of
up to thousands of cells from two differentiated cell types: numerous flagellate somatic cells and a smaller
number of germ cells lacking in soma that are embedded in the surface of a hollow sphere or coenobium
containing an extracellular matrix[1] made of glycoproteins.[3]

Adult somatic cells comprise a single layer with the flagella facing outward. The cells swim in a coordinated
fashion, with distinct anterior and posterior poles. The cells have anterior eyespots that enable the colony to
swim towards light. The cells of colonies in the more basal Euvolvox clade are interconnected by thin strands of
cytoplasm, called protoplasmates.[4] Cell number is specified during development and is dependent on the
number of rounds of division.[2]

Reproduction
An asexual colony includes both somatic (vegetative) cells, which do not reproduce, and large, non-motile
gonidia in the interior, which produce new colonies through repeated division. In sexual reproduction two types
of gametes are produced. Volvox species can be monoecious or dioecious. Male colonies release numerous
sperm packets, while in female colonies single cells enlarge to become oogametes, or eggs.[2][5]

Volvox is facultatively sexual and can reproduce both sexually and asexually. In the lab, asexual reproduction is
most commonly observed; the relative frequencies of sexual and asexual reproduction in the wild is unknown.
The switch from asexual to sexual reproduction can be triggered by environmental conditions[6] and by the
production of a sex-inducing pheromone.[7] Desiccation-resistant diploid zygotes are produced following
successful fertilization.

Kirk and Kirk[8] showed that sex-inducing pheromone production can be triggered in somatic cells by a short
heat shock given to asexually growing organisms. The induction of sex by heat shock is mediated by oxidative
stress that likely also causes oxidative DNA damage.[6][9] It has been suggested that switching to the sexual
pathway is the key to surviving environmental stresses that include heat and drought.[10] Consistent with this
idea, the induction of sex involves a signal transduction pathway that is also induced in Volvox by wounding.[10]

Habitats
Volvox is a genus of freshwater algae found in ponds and ditches, even in shallow puddles.[5] According to
Charles Joseph Chamberlain,[11]

"The most favorable place to look for it is in the deeper ponds, lagoons, and ditches which receive an abundance
of rain water. It has been said that where you find Lemna, you are likely to find Volvox; and it is true that such
water is favorable, but the shading is unfavorable. Look where you find Sphagnum, Vaucheria, Alisma,
Equisetum fluviatile, Utricularia, Typha, and Chara. Dr. Nieuwland reports that Pandorina, Eudorina and
Gonium are commonly found as constituents of the green scum on wallows in fields where pigs are kept. The
flagellate, Euglena, is often associated with these forms."

History
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek first reported observations of Volvox in 1700.[12][13]

After some drawings of Henry Baker (1753),[14] Linnaeus (1758)[15] would describe the genus Volvox, with two
species: V. globator and V. chaos. Volvox chaos is an amoeba now known as Chaos sp.[16][17]

Evolution
Ancestors of Volvox transitioned from single cells to form multicellular colonies at least 200 million years ago,
during the Triassic period.[1][18] An estimate using DNA sequences from about 45 different species of volvocine
green algae, including Volvox, suggests that the transition from single cells to undifferentiated multicellular
colonies took about 35 million years.[1][18]