Autospore


An autospore is a non-motile spore that is produced within a parent cell, and has the same shape as the parent cell, before release. Autospores, in addition to zoospore and aplanospore, are one of the three types of spores that algae use to reproduce and spread asexually. Autospores occur in several groups of algae, including Eustigmatophyceae, Dinoflagellates and green algae. For example, the colonial alga Dichotomococcus produces two autospores per reproducing cell; the autospores escape through a slit in the cell wall and remain attached to the mother cell.

Autospore Formation

An autospore is defined one of the daughter cells formed by the internal division of a single cell. Autospores are formed as a result of fission in the mitotic phase of cell division of green algae. There are multiple methods that a cell can take to form autospores. The cell can undergo a multiple fission after 2 nuclear divisions where 4 autospores will form which is the preferred mechanism in organisms such as P. subcapitata. In addition to this mechanism, there is binary fission also known as the "two-autospore type" and the "eight-autospore type"