prochloron

[ proh-klawr-on, -klohr- ]

noun

, Biology.

1. any spherical, photosynthetic, prokaryotic microorganism of the genus Prochloron, occurring in subtropical and tropical habitats in symbiosis with various invertebrates, especially marine chordates, proposed as ancestral to the chloroplast of green algae and plants.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prochloron¹

< New Latin < Greek próchlōron, neuter of próchlōros greenish ( pro- ², chloro- ¹ )