Odontella sinensis. Trieres chinensis

Genus Odontella comprises of organisms generally referred to as diatoms. Diatoms can be found in both marine and fresh water environments. They are unicellular, eukaryotic micro-organisms that are pigmented and photosynthetic. Their cell wall is highly differentiated and heavily impregnated with silica. The wall structure, termed frustule, is different for each species which helps in their identification. They are generally yellow brown in color. Cell of Odontella have long spines and raised apical elevations which often form chains. It is marine and has many small, discoid plastids. They are very abundant throughout the oceans. Odontella sinensis, also called Biddulphia sinensis, are 80-440mkm in size and are found either solitary or in pairs. They are widely distributed and believed to be Indo-Pacific in origin. The chloroplast genome of Odontella sinensis is fully sequenced. It forms an interesting system to understand the origin and evolution of algal plastids.