Culturing Peridinium and Other Dinoflagellates

Peridinium is a freshwater dinoflagellate found in lakes, ponds and pools. These unicellular protists are frequently used in cell biology research areas of nuclear structure and function, circadian rhythms and endosymbiosis. They are circular–oval shaped and range in size from 0.01 to 0.1 mm in diameter. Peridinium range in color from green to yellow-brown. Few species of Peridinium are purely photosynthetic. Instead, most species are mixotrophic, supplementing autotrophy with heterotrophy.