The green seaweed genus Chaetomorpha is characterized by unbranched filaments. Molecular phylogenetic data indicate that Chaetomorpha forms a clade that is nested in a paraphyletic assemblage of branched species (Cladophora). It follows that the unbranched condition is evolutionarily conserved and likely evolved early in the evolution of this clade. In this study we show that under laboratory culture conditions, the filaments of C. antennina frequently produce lateral branches, similar to Cladophora. Our results thus indicate that the unbranched thallus architecture is not entirely genetically constrained, but at least in part subject to morphological plasticity. Additionally, culture observations of C. antennina allowed a detailed study of rhizoidal development, which seems unique among Cladophorales.
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