Molecular phylogeny of marine gregarines (Apicomplexa) from the Sea of Japan and the Northwest Pacific including the description of three novel species of Selenidium and Trollidium akkeshiense n. gen. n. sp
This study set out to bolster morphological and molecular datasets of marine gregarine apicomplexans. Gregarines were sampled from the Sea of Japan and Northwest Pacific from cirratuliform polychaetes (Acrocirridae, Cirratulidae, and Flabelligeridae), as well as sipunculids. Trophozoites (feeding stages) were gathered for identification using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Cells were also collected for molecular phylogenetic analysis using 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA. As a result, three new species of Selenidium, S. planusae n. sp., S. validusae n. sp., and S. pyroidea n. sp...
Source: Protist - December 8, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Zero Intercalary Plates in Parvodinium (Peridiniopsidaceae, Peridiniales) and Phylogenetics of P. elpatiewskyi, comb. nov
Publication date: Available online 22 November 2019Source: ProtistAuthor(s): Juliane Kretschmann, Anže Žerdoner Čalasan, Barbara Meyer, Marc GottschlingParvodinium elpatiewskyi, comb. nov., is a common freshwater dinophyte without intercalary plates and with various spines on hypothecal sutures. However, the taxonomy of the species has had a complex history and its systematic placement remained unclear. The conserved type of P. elpatiewskyi, comb. nov., illustrated here for the first time using electron microscopy, is an environmental sample. Based on newly collected material from Berlin (Germany) we provide a morpholog...
Source: Protist - November 23, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
SSU rDNA Phylogeny Indicates the Scale-lacking Trivalvulariida ord. nov. as a Sister Group to the Euglyphida (Cercozoa, Rhizaria)
Publication date: Available online 23 November 2019Source: ProtistAuthor(s): Ferry Siemensma, Kenneth DumackThe testate amoeba Leptogromia operculata was described by Valkanov in 1970 from marine waters. We re-discovered this species in brackish water along the North Sea in the Netherlands. Based on detailed comparison of morphology and SSU rDNA phylogeny we conclude that this species represents a sister clade to the Euglyphida (Imbricatea, Cercozoa). We further describe a similar species Trivalvularis immunda gen. nov., sp. nov. from freshwater in France and the Netherlands on basis of morphological data. Trivalvularis an...
Source: Protist - November 23, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: November 2019Source: Protist, Volume 170, Issue 5Author(s): (Source: Protist)
Source: Protist - November 9, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Quantitative Proteomic Map of the Trypanosomatid Strigomonas culicis: The Biological Contribution of its Endosymbiotic Bacterium
Publication date: Available online 1 November 2019Source: ProtistAuthor(s): Giselle V.F. Brunoro, Rubem F.S. Menna-Barreto, Aline S. Garcia-Gomes, Carolina Boucinha, Diogo B. Lima, Paulo C. Carvalho, André Teixeira-Ferreira, Monique R.O. Trugilho, Jonas Perales, Veit Schwämmle, Marcos Catanho, Ana Tereza R. de Vasconcelos, Maria Cristina M. Motta, Claudia M. d’Avila-Levy, Richard H. ValenteStrigomonas culicis is a kinetoplastid parasite of insects that maintains a mutualistic association with an intracellular symbiotic bacterium, which is highly integrated into the protist metabolism: it furnishes essential compounds a...
Source: Protist - November 3, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Characterisation of Two Toxic Gambierdiscus spp. (Gonyaulacales, Dinophyceae) from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia): G. lewisii sp. nov. and G. holmesii sp. nov
In this study, we describe two new species of Gambierdiscus isolated from Heron Island in the Southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. These new species were analysed using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and phylogenetic analyses of nuclear encoded ribosomal ITS, SSU as well as D1-D3 and D8-D10 of the LSU gene regions. Gambierdiscus lewisii sp. nov. (Po, 3', 0a, 7'', 6c,? s, 5''', 0p, 2'''') is distinguished by its strong reticulate-foveate ornamentation and is genetically distinct from its sister species, G. pacificus. Gambierdiscus holmesii sp. nov. (Po, 3', 0a, 7'', 6c, 6s?, 5''', 0p, 2'''') ...
Source: Protist - November 1, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The Draft Genome of the Small, Spineless Green Alga Desmodesmus costato-granulatus (Sphaeropleales, Chlorophyta)
Publication date: Available online 25 October 2019Source: ProtistAuthor(s): Sibo Wang, Linzhou Li, Yan Xu, Barbara Melkonian, Maike Lorenz, Thomas Friedl, Morten Petersen, Sunil Kumar Sahu, Michael Melkonian, Huan LiuDesmodesmus costato-granulatus (Skuja) Hegewald 2000 (Sphaeropleales, Chlorophyta) is a small, spineless green alga that is abundant in the freshwater phytoplankton of oligo- to eutrophic waters worldwide. It has a high lipid content and is considered for sustainable production of diverse compounds, including biofuels. Here, we report the draft whole-genome shotgun sequencing of D. costato-granulatus strain SA...
Source: Protist - October 26, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Novel Lineages of Oxymonad Flagellates from the Termite Porotermes adamsoni (Stolotermitidae): the Genera Oxynympha and Termitimonas
Publication date: Available online 21 October 2019Source: ProtistAuthor(s): Renate Radek, Katja Meuser, Samet Altinay, Nathan Lo, Andreas BruneThe symbiotic gut flagellates of lower termites form host-specific consortia composed of Parabasalia and Oxymonadida. The analysis of their coevolution with termites is hampered by a lack of information, particularly on the flagellates colonizing the basal host lineages. To date, there are no reports on the presence of oxymonads in termites of the family Stolotermitidae. We discovered three novel, deep-branching lineages of oxymonads in a member of this family, the damp-wood termite...
Source: Protist - October 22, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The Draft Genome of Hariotina reticulata (Sphaeropleales, Chlorophyta) Provides Insight into the Evolution of Scenedesmaceae
Publication date: Available online 19 October 2019Source: ProtistAuthor(s): Yan Xu, Linzhou Li, Hongping Liang, Barbara Melkonian, Maike Lorenz, Thomas Friedl, Morten Petersen, Huan Liu, Michael Melkonian, Sibo WangHariotina reticulata P. A. Dangeard 1889 (Sphaeropleales, Chlorophyta) is a common member of the summer phytoplankton of meso- to highly eutrophic water bodies with a worldwide distribution. Here, we report the draft whole-genome shotgun sequencing of H. reticulata strain SAG 8.81. The final assembly comprises 107,596,510 bp with over 15,219 scaffolds (>100 bp). This whole-genome project is publicly available in...
Source: Protist - October 20, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: August 2019Source: Protist, Volume 170, Issue 4Author(s): (Source: Protist)
Source: Protist - October 17, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Evidence of Intra-individual SSU Polymorphisms in Dark-spored Myxomycetes (Amoebozoa)
Publication date: Available online 10 September 2019Source: ProtistAuthor(s): J.M. García-Martín, J.C. Zamora, C. LadoThe nuclear small subunit rRNA gene (SSU or 18S) is a marker frequently used in phylogenetic and barcoding studies in Amoebozoa, including Myxomycetes. Despite its common usage and the confirmed existence of divergent copies of ribosomal genes in other protists, the potential presence of intra-individual SSU variability in Myxomycetes has never been studied before. Here we investigated the pattern of nucleotide polymorphism in the 5' end fragment of SSU by cloning and sequencing a total of 238 variants fr...
Source: Protist - September 11, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Taxon-rich Multigene Phylogenetic Analyses Resolve the Phylogenetic Relationship Among Deep-branching Stramenopiles
In this study, we performed multigene phylogenetic analyses of deep-branching Stramenopiles with improved taxon sampling. We sequenced transcriptomes of three deep-branching Stramenopiles: Incisomonas marina, Pseudophyllomitus vesiculosus and Platysulcus tardus. Phylogenetic analyses using 120 protein-coding genes and 56 taxa indicated that Pl. tardus is sister to all other Stramenopiles while Ps. vesiculosus is sister to MAST-4 and form a robust clade with the Labyrinthulea. The resolved phylogenetic relationships of deep-branching Stramenopiles provide insights into the ancestral traits of the Stramenopiles. (Source: Protist)
Source: Protist - September 6, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Unmasking “The Eldest Son of The Father of Protozoology”: Charles King
Publication date: August 2019Source: Protist, Volume 170, Issue 4Author(s): John R. DolanIn 1703 two articles appeared in the Transactions of the Royal Society, authored by an unnamed gentleman. The articles, with deference to Leeuwenhoeck, described recent observations made with a microscope. Clifford Dobell, in his biography of Leeuwenhoeck, remarked at length on the extraordinary quality of the illustrations and descriptions of “animalcules”. He declared the anonymous author to be the scion and master draughtsman of Leeuwenhoeck’s followers. Still today, one of the illustrations is credited with being the first un...
Source: Protist - September 1, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Gertia stigmatica gen. et sp. nov. (Kareniaceae, Dinophyceae), a New Marine Unarmored Dinoflagellate Possessing the Peridinin-type Chloroplast with an Eyespot
Publication date: Available online 30 August 2019Source: ProtistAuthor(s): Kazuya Takahashi, Garry Benico, Wai Mun Lum, Mitsunori IwatakiMarine unarmored dinoflagellates in the family Kareniaceae are known to possess chloroplasts of haptophyte origin, which contain fucoxanthin and its derivatives as major carotenoids, and lack peridinin. In the present study, the first species with the peridinin-type chloroplast in this family, Gertia stigmatica gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of ultrastructure, photosynthetic pigment composition, and molecular phylogeny inferred from nucleus- and chloroplast-encoded genes. Cel...
Source: Protist - September 1, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Molecular Subtyping of Blastocystis from Diverse Animals in the United Arab Emirates
In conclusion, this is the first report of Blastocystis infection in various animals in the UAE. Apart from ST4, no potentially zoonotic subtypes were detected. (Source: Protist)
Source: Protist - August 28, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
