Charophyceae

The Charophyceae are the green algae closest to plants.

Their exact rank is the matter of some debate. Some botanists recommend expanding the existing plant kingdom to include charophyceans and chlorophytes.Campbell N.A. & Reece J.B.  2005.  Biology. 7th ed, Cummings, San Francisco.

Others classify Charophyceae as a class under the division Charophyta, with Chlorophyta remaining a distinct division.Guiry M.D. & Guiry G.M. 2007. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. AlgaeBase.org searched on 13 December 2007 There are also other possibilities.Hoek C. van den, Mann D.G. & Jahns H. M. 1995. Algae: an introduction to phycology Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. McCourt R.M; Chapman R.L; Buchheim M. & Mishler B.D. “Green plants”  Accessed 13 December 2007

The consensus among botanists is that charophyceans are the organisms most closely related to land plants (embryophytes).Delwiche C.F. “Charophycean green algae”. Accessed 4 May 2015

Many of the complex plant traits related to sexual reproduction evolved first in charophyceans. Analysis of cpDNA (chloroplast DNA) shows that characteristics of plant chloroplasts also evolved first in the charophyceans, before the Zygnematales diverged from the lineage that led to Coleochaetales, Charales, and the land plants.Turmel M; Otis C. & Lemieux C.  2005. The complete chloroplast DNA sequences of the Charophycean green algae Staurastrum and Zygnema reveal that the chloroplast genome underwent extensive changes during the evolution of the Zygnematales. BMC Biology 3:22

Groups generally included within the Charophyceae are:
Mesostigmatales
Klebsormidiales
Zygnematales
Desmidiales
Charales
Coleochaetales

 References 

Category:Algae