Stramenopiles or Heterokonts

The Stramenopiles, also known as Heterokonts, are organisms that possess two flagella that are different in form. One flagellum that is smooth called a whiplash flagellum, and another that looks hairy called the tinsel flagellum. Many of these organisms are aquatic, or reside in moist environments. In this course we will cover the brown algae, the diatoms and the oomycetes or water molds. The brown algae are photosynthetic and multicellular, dominating in many marine environments, such as the giant kelp (Macrocytis). The diatoms are unicellular or colonial, and immensely efficient at photosynthesizing accounting for a large portion of the primary productivity of the oceans. The water molds are not photosynthetic, but are well-known parasites on plants. The infamous potato blight and the decline of the American chestnut were caused by the water molds.