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Sample records for hypotrich spirotrichea ciliophora

  1. New Record of Two Marine Ciliates (Ciliophora: Spirotrichea in South Korea

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    Kang-San Kim

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Two marine hypotrichous ciliates, Anteholosticha petzi and Ponturostyla enigmatica, were collected from the Yellow Sea and the Korea Strait, respectively, and described using live observation and protargol-impregnated specimens. Furthermore, the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene of each was sequenced and compared to previously annotated sequences retrieved from the GenBank. Anteholosticha petzi is characterized by 3 frontal cirri (FC, 2 frontoterminal cirri (FTC, 8-12 transverse cirri (TC, 1 buccal cirrus (BC, 9-12 midventral pairs (MP, 3 bipolar dorsal kineties (DK, and 3 types of colorless cortical granules. Ponturostyla enigmatica is characterized by 8 FC, 5 ventral cirri (VC, 5-7 TC, 6-7 marginal rows (MR on each side, 4 complete and 2-3 partial DK, and greenish cortical granules. This is the first identification and description of these 2 species, A. petzi and P. enigmatica, in South Korea.

  2. alpha-Tubulin of Histriculus cavicola (Ciliophora; Hypotrichea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Romero, P; Villalobo, E; Díaz-Ramos, C; Calvo, P; Santos-Rosa, F; Torres, A

    1997-03-01

    An alpha-tubulin gene fragment amplified by PCR from the hypotrichous ciliate Histriculus cavicola has been sequenced. This fragment, 1,182 bp long, contains an in-frame "stop" codon (UAA), which in other hypotrichous species codes for a glutamine residue. The comparison of the alpha-tubulin genes from several ciliates classes have revealed amino acid positions which could serve to distinguish these taxonomic groups.

  3. Morphology and SSU rDNA sequence analysis of two hypotrichous ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora, Hypotrichia) including the new species Metaurostylopsis parastruederkypkeae n. sp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Borong; Wang, Chundi; Huang, Jie; Shi, Yuhong; Chen, Xiangrui

    2016-10-01

    The morphology and phylogeny of two hypotrichous ciliates, Metaurostylopsis parastruederkypkeae n. sp. and Neourostylopsis flavicana (Wang et al., 2011) Chen et al., 2013 were investigated based on morphology, infraciliature and the small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA gene (rRNA) sequence. The new species, M. parastruederkypkeae n. sp. was identified according to its characteristics: body shape ellipsoidal, size about (165-200) × (45-60) μm in vivo, cell color reddish; two types of cortical granules including wheat grain-like and yellow-greenish larger ones along the marginal cirri rows and dorsal kineties and dot-like and reddish smaller ones, grouped around marginal cirri on ventral side and arranged in short lines on dorsal side; 26-41 adoral membranelles; three frontal and one parabuccal, five to seven frontoterminal, one buccal, and three to six transverse cirri; seven to thirteen midventral pairs; five to nine unpaired ventral cirri, five to seven left and three to five right marginal rows; and three complete dorsal kineties. Phylogenetic analysis based on SSU rDNA sequences showed that both Metaurostylopsis and Neourostylopsis are monophyletic. As the internal relationship between and within both genera are not clear, further studies on the species in these two genera are necessary. The key characteristics of all known twelve Metaurostylopsis-Apourostylopsis-Neourostylopsis species complex were updated.

  4. Microfaunal indicators, Ciliophora phylogeny and protozoan population shifts in an intermittently aerated and fed bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ntougias, Spyridon; Tanasidis, Spartakos; Melidis, Paraschos

    2011-01-01

    Microfauna community structure was examined in the mixed liquor of a bench-scale bioreactor equipped with an intermittent aeration and feeding system. The reactor was operated under an intermittent aeration of 25 min in every 1 h and varying feeding conditions (0.264, 0.403 and 0.773 kg BOD 5 /m 3 d). A total of 14 protozoan and metazoan taxa were identified by microscopic examination. Sessile ciliates, followed by crawling ciliates, were the major protozoan groups under 0.403 kg BOD 5 /m 3 d organic loading conditions, while sessile ciliate population was remarkably increased under an organic loading of 0.773 kg BOD 5 /m 3 d. Principal Component Analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient tests were performed in order to reveal relationships between microfauna community and operational parameters. Ciliophora specific-18S rRNA gene clone library was constructed to identify ciliate diversity under 0.773 kg BOD 5 /m 3 d organic loading conditions. Ciliophora diversity consisted of members of Aspidiscidae, Epistylidae, Opisthonectidae and Vorticellidae, with the majority of the clones being associated with the species Vorticella fusca. At least one novel phylogenetic linkage among Ciliophora was identified. Comparisons made after molecular characterization and microscopic examination of Ciliophora community showed that the estimation of broad ciliate groups is useful for ecological considerations and evaluation of the operational conditions in wastewater treatment plants.

  5. Microfaunal indicators, Ciliophora phylogeny and protozoan population shifts in an intermittently aerated and fed bioreactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ntougias, Spyridon, E-mail: sntougia@env.duth.gr [Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Environmental Engineering, Laboratory of Wastewater Management and Treatment Technologies, Vas. Sofias 12, 67100 Xanthi (Greece); Tanasidis, Spartakos; Melidis, Paraschos [Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Environmental Engineering, Laboratory of Wastewater Management and Treatment Technologies, Vas. Sofias 12, 67100 Xanthi (Greece)

    2011-02-28

    Microfauna community structure was examined in the mixed liquor of a bench-scale bioreactor equipped with an intermittent aeration and feeding system. The reactor was operated under an intermittent aeration of 25 min in every 1 h and varying feeding conditions (0.264, 0.403 and 0.773 kg BOD{sub 5}/m{sup 3} d). A total of 14 protozoan and metazoan taxa were identified by microscopic examination. Sessile ciliates, followed by crawling ciliates, were the major protozoan groups under 0.403 kg BOD{sub 5}/m{sup 3} d organic loading conditions, while sessile ciliate population was remarkably increased under an organic loading of 0.773 kg BOD{sub 5}/m{sup 3} d. Principal Component Analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient tests were performed in order to reveal relationships between microfauna community and operational parameters. Ciliophora specific-18S rRNA gene clone library was constructed to identify ciliate diversity under 0.773 kg BOD{sub 5}/m{sup 3} d organic loading conditions. Ciliophora diversity consisted of members of Aspidiscidae, Epistylidae, Opisthonectidae and Vorticellidae, with the majority of the clones being associated with the species Vorticella fusca. At least one novel phylogenetic linkage among Ciliophora was identified. Comparisons made after molecular characterization and microscopic examination of Ciliophora community showed that the estimation of broad ciliate groups is useful for ecological considerations and evaluation of the operational conditions in wastewater treatment plants.

  6. New records of Thecacineta cothurnioides and Trematosoma rotunda (Ciliophora, Suctorea) as epibionts on nematodes from the Indian Ocean

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Dovgal, I.; Chatterjee, T.; Ingole, B.S.

    . 2008. An overview of suctorian ciliates (Ciliophora, Suctorea) as epibionts of halacarid mites (Acari, Halacaridae). Zootaxa. 1810, 60-68. Fisher R. 2003. Ciliate hitch-hikers-nematode ecto-commensals from tropical Australian sea-grass meadows...

  7. The valid name for the genus Loxocephalus Foerster, 1862 (Insecta, Hymenoptera: Braconidae), preoccupied by Loxocephalus Eberhard, 1862 (Protozoa: Ciliophora)

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    Foissner, W.; Achterberg, van C.

    1997-01-01

    Loxocephalus Foerster, 1862 (Insecta: Braconidae) is preoccupied by Loxocephalus Eberhard, 1862 (Protozoa: Ciliophora). The name previously used for Loxocephalus Foerster, Myiocephalus Marshall, 1897, becomes the valid name for the genus.

  8. Discovery of a new hypotrich ciliate from petroleum contaminated soil.

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    Santosh Kumar

    Full Text Available Pollution after oil spill represents extreme habitat for survival and is a major concern for loss of species diversity in the affected area. In this study, we investigated soil samples collected from a petrochemical industry, Ulsan, South Korea. The soil was in the phase of recovery from the contamination of crude oil spill. Detailed investigation, based on morphology, ontogenesis, and molecular phylogenetic methods, resulted in discovery of a novel hypotrich ciliate, i.e., Metasterkiella koreana n. gen., n. sp., which is morphologically characterized by a semirigid body, undulating membranes in Oxytricha pattern, 18 frontal-ventral-transverse cirri with cirrus V/3 placed posteriorly, one right and one left row of marginal cirri, four dorsal kineties, two dorsomarginal rows, and caudal cirri at the end of dorsal kineties 1, 2, and 4. Interestingly, during ontogenesis, formation of three common anlagen for the proter and the opisthe and involvement of cirrus V/3 in anlagen formation was observed. The dorsal ontogenesis was typical of oxytrichids, i.e., simple fragmentation of dorsal kinety 3 and formation of dorsomarginal rows close to the right marginal row. The new species was found to be similar with Sterkiella subtropica, except for some minor differences in morphometry, and at gene level with only one base pair difference. In phylogenetic analyses, based on SSU rRNA gene sequence, M. koreana cluster in a clade away from Sterkiella species, which could be explained by the differences in the morphogenetic pattern between these two genera. It is proposed that S. subtropica probably belongs to Metasterkiella; however, we do not perform changes and wait for the reinvestigation of its morphogenetic pattern.

  9. Cotterillia bromelicola nov. gen., nov. spec., a gonostomatid ciliate (Ciliophora, Hypotricha) from tank bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) with de novo originating dorsal kineties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foissner, Wilhelm; Stoeck, Thorsten

    2011-01-01

    Cotterillia bromelicola nov. gen., nov. spec. was discovered in the tanks of the Mexican bromeliad Tillandsia heterophylla. Its morphology, ontogenesis, and 18S rDNA were studied with standard methods. Cotterillia has many cirral rows on both sides of the body. Uniquely, and thus used to diagnose the new genus Cotterillia, it has dorsal kineties originating de novo, producing neokinetal waves where the parental dorsal kineties reorganize to "combined rows", consisting of dorsal bristles anteriorly and of cirri posteriorly. Thus, up to four generations of bristles and cirri occur on the dorsal body surface. Cotterillia bromelicola has a gonostomatid body and adoral zone of membranelles, while the dense ciliature and the neokinetal waves resemble kahliellid hypotrichs. However, the de novo origin of anlage 1 and the molecular analyses show convincingly that Cotterillia belongs to the GonostomatidaeSmall and Lynn, 1985, for which an improved diagnosis is provided. Thus, neokinetal waves originated several times independently. The molecular differences between Trachelostyla, Gonostomum, and Cotterillia are small (≤ 5%) compared to their distinct morphologies and ontogeneses, suggesting that the 18S rDNA underestimates generic diversity. Our study emphasizes the need of combined morphological, ontogenetic, and molecular investigations to unravel the complex phylogeny and evolution of hypotrich ciliates. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  10. Phylogenetic study of Class Armophorea (Alveolata, Ciliophora based on 18S-rDNA data

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    Thiago da Silva Paiva

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The 18S rDNA phylogeny of Class Armophorea, a group of anaerobic ciliates, is proposed based on an analysis of 44 sequences (out of 195 retrieved from the NCBI/GenBank database. Emphasis was placed on the use of two nucleotide alignment criteria that involved variation in the gap-opening and gap-extension parameters and the use of rRNA secondary structure to orientate multiple-alignment. A sensitivity analysis of 76 data sets was run to assess the effect of variations in indel parameters on tree topologies. Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony phylogenetic analyses were used to explore how different analytic frameworks influenced the resulting hypotheses. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the relationships among higher taxa of the Intramacronucleata were dependent upon how indels were determined during multiple-alignment of nucleotides. The phylogenetic analyses rejected the monophyly of the Armophorea most of the time and consistently indicated that the Metopidae and Nyctotheridae were related to the Litostomatea. There was no consensus on the placement of the Caenomorphidae, which could be a sister group of the Metopidae + Nyctorheridae, or could have diverged at the base of the Spirotrichea branch or the Intramacronucleata tree.

  11. Phylogenetic placement of two previously described intranuclear bacteria from the ciliate Paramecium bursaria (Protozoa, Ciliophora): 'Holospora acuminata' and 'Holospora curviuscula'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rautian, Maria S; Wackerow-Kouzova, Natalia D

    2013-05-01

    'Holospora acuminata' infects micronuclei of Paramecium bursaria (Protozoa, Ciliophora), whereas 'Holospora curviuscula' infects the macronucleus in other clones of the same host species. Because these micro-organisms have not been cultivated, their description has been based only on some morphological properties and host and nuclear specificities. One16S rRNA gene sequence of 'H. curviuscula' is present in databases. The systematic position of the representative strain of 'H. curviuscula', strain MC-3, was determined in this study. Moreover, for the first time, two strains of 'H. acuminata', KBN10-1 and AC61-10, were investigated. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that all three strains belonged to the genus Holospora, family Holosporaceae, order Rickettsiales within the Alphaproteobacteria.

  12. Description and Phylogeny of Urostyla grandis wiackowskii subsp. nov. (Ciliophora, Hypotricha) from an Estuarine Mangrove in Brazil.

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    Paiva, Thiago da Silva; Shao, Chen; Fernandes, Noemi Mendes; Borges, Bárbara do Nascimento; da Silva-Neto, Inácio Domingos

    2016-01-01

    Interphase specimens, aspects of physiological reorganization and divisional morphogenesis were investigated in a strain of a hypotrichous ciliate highly similar to Urostyla grandis Ehrenberg, (type species of Urostyla), collected from a mangrove area in the estuary of the Paraíba do Sul river (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The results revealed that albeit interphase specimens match with the known morphologic variability in U. grandis, morphogenetic processes have conspicuous differences. Parental adoral zone is entirely renewed during morphogenesis, and marginal cirri exhibit a unique combination of developmental modes, in which left marginal rows originate from multiple anlagen arising from innermost left marginal cirral row, whereas right marginal ciliature originates from individual within-row anlagen. Based on such characteristics, a new subspecies, namely U. grandis wiackowskii subsp. nov. is proposed, and consequently, U. grandis grandis Ehrenberg, stat. nov. is established. Bayesian and maximum-likelihood analyses of the 18S rDNA unambiguously placed U. grandis wiackowskii as adelphotaxon of a cluster formed by other U. grandis sequences. The implications of such findings to the systematics of Urostyla are discussed. © 2015 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2015 International Society of Protistologists.

  13. Molecular phylogeny and species separation of five morphologically similar Holosticha-complex ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) using ARDRA riboprinting and multigene sequence data

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    Gao, Feng; Yi, Zhenzhen; Gong, Jun; Al-Rasheid Khaled, A. S.; Song, Weibo

    2010-05-01

    To separate and redefine the ambiguous Holosticha-complex, a confusing group of hypotrichous ciliates, six strains belonging to five morphospecies of three genera, Holosticha heterofoissneri, Anteholosticha sp. pop1, Anteholosticha sp. pop2, A. manca, A. gracilis and Nothoholosticha fasciola, were analyzed using 12 restriction enzymes on the basis of amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis. Nine of the 12 enzymes could digest the DNA products, four ( Hinf I, Hind III, Msp I, Taq I) yielded species-specific restriction patterns, and Hind III and Taq I produced different patterns for two Anteholosticha sp. populations. Distinctly different restriction digestion haplotypes and similarity indices can be used to separate the species. The secondary structures of the five species were predicted based on the ITS2 transcripts and there were several minor differences among species, while two Anteholosticha sp. populations were identical. In addition, phylogenies based on the SSrRNA gene sequences were reconstructed using multiple algorithms, which grouped them generally into four clades, and exhibited that the genus Anteholosticha should be a convergent assemblage. The fact that Holosticha species clustered with the oligotrichs and choreotrichs, though with very low support values, indicated that the topology may be very divergent and unreliable when the number of sequence data used in the analyses is too low.

  14. The mitochondrial genomes of the ciliates Euplotes minuta and Euplotes crassus

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    Huynh Minh

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There are thousands of very diverse ciliate species from which only a handful mitochondrial genomes have been studied so far. These genomes are rather similar because the ciliates analysed (Tetrahymena spp. and Paramecium aurelia are closely related. Here we study the mitochondrial genomes of the hypotrichous ciliates Euplotes minuta and Euplotes crassus. These ciliates are only distantly related to Tetrahymena spp. and Paramecium aurelia, but more closely related to Nyctotherus ovalis, which possesses a hydrogenosomal (mitochondrial genome. Results The linear mitochondrial genomes of the hypotrichous ciliates Euplotes minuta and Euplotes crassus were sequenced and compared with the mitochondrial genomes of several Tetrahymena species, Paramecium aurelia and the partially sequenced mitochondrial genome of the anaerobic ciliate Nyctotherus ovalis. This study reports new features such as long 5'gene extensions of several mitochondrial genes, extremely long cox1 and cox2 open reading frames and a large repeat in the middle of the linear mitochondrial genome. The repeat separates the open reading frames into two blocks, each having a single direction of transcription, from the repeat towards the ends of the chromosome. Although the Euplotes mitochondrial gene content is almost identical to that of Paramecium and Tetrahymena, the order of the genes is completely different. In contrast, the 33273 bp (excluding the repeat region piece of the mitochondrial genome that has been sequenced in both Euplotes species exhibits no difference in gene order. Unexpectedly, many of the mitochondrial genes of E. minuta encoding ribosomal proteins possess N-terminal extensions that are similar to mitochondrial targeting signals. Conclusion The mitochondrial genomes of the hypotrichous ciliates Euplotes minuta and Euplotes crassus are rather different from the previously studied genomes. Many genes are extended in size compared to mitochondrial

  15. Parasitic fauna of eight species of ornamental freshwater fish species from the middle Negro River in the Brazilian Amazon Region Fauna parasitária de oito espécies de peixes ornamentais de água doce do médio Rio Negro na Amazônia brasileira

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    Marcos Tavares-Dias

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Twenty-seven specimens of cardinal tetra Paracheirodon axelrodi, 33 rosy tetra Hyphessobrycon copelandi (Characidae, 28 marbled hatchetfish Carnegiella strigata, 26 blackwing hatchetfish Carnegiella martae (Gasteropelecidae, 27 bodó Ancistrus hoplogenys (Loricariidae, 31 brown pencilfish Nannostomus eques, 38 oneline pencilfish Nannostomus unifasciatus (Lebiasinidae and 13 angelfish Pterophyllum scalare (Cichlidae were collected from the middle Negro River, State of Amazonas, Brazil, for parasitological studies. Out of the total of 223 fish examined, 143 (64.1% were parasitized by at least one parasite species. The highest prevalence rate was for Monogenea (36.7%, followed by Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora (20.6%, Trichodina spp. (Ciliophora (4.0%, Piscinoodinium pillulare (Dinoflagellida (1.3%, Tetrahymena sp. (Ciliophora (0.89%, and Procamallanus sp. (Nematoda (0.4%. All eight fish species had Monogenea (Gyrodactylidae and Dactylogyridae in the gills, but the highest prevalence occurred in P. scalare and the lowest in P. axelrodi and C. strigata. However, the highest mean intensity of Monogenea was found in P. scalare and A. hoplogenys. The protozoan I. multifiliis occurred in the six ornamental fish species examined, but C. strigata and C. martae had higher prevalence and mean intensity. Trichodina spp. were found only in the gills of C. strigata, C. martae and N. eques, and with higher mean intensity in C. strigata. On the other hand, the protozoan P. pilullare was found only in the gills of C. martae. This is the first report of Tetrahymena sp. in Brazil, and it occurred in the gills of C. strigata.Para estudos parasitológicos, 27 espécimes de cardinal Paracheirodon axelrodi, 33 rosa-céu Hyphessobrycon copelandi (Characidae, 28 peixes borboleta Carnegiella strigata e 26 Carnegiella martae (Gasteropelecidae, 27 bodó ou cascudo Ancistrus hoplogenys (Loricariidae, 31 peixes-lápis Nannostomus eques e 38 Nannostomus unifasciatus

  16. Correlation between some environmental variables and abundance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Correlation between some environmental variables and abundance of Almophrya mediovacuolata (Ciliophora: Anoplophryidae) endocommensal ciliate of an ... The survey primarily involved soil samples collection from the same spots of EW collection and preparation for physico-chemical analysis; evaluation in situ of the ...

  17. Reprint of "Fish immunity to scuticociliate parasites"

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    Piazzon de Haro, M.C.; Leiro, J.; Lamas, J.

    2014-01-01

    Some species of scuticociliates (Ciliophora) behave as facultative parasites and produce severe mortalities in cultured fish. Pathogenic scuticociliates can cause surface lesions and can also penetrate inside the body, where they feed on tissue and proliferate in the blood and most internal organs,

  18. Fish immunity to scuticociliate parasites

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    Piazzon de Haro, M.C.; Leiro, J.M.; Lamas, J.

    2013-01-01

    Some species of scuticociliates (Ciliophora) behave as facultative parasites and produce severe mortalities in cultured fish. Pathogenic scuticociliates can cause surface lesions and can also penetrate inside the body, where they feed on tissue and proliferate in the blood and most internal organs,

  19. Parasites of economically important bivalves from the southern coast of Bahia State, Brazil Parasitos de bivalves de interesse econômico no Litoral Sul do Estado da Bahia, Brasil

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    Gabriela Calvi Zeidan

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the parasites of three commercially important bivalve species (Crassostrea rhizophorae, Mytella guyanensis and Lucina pectinata from the southern coast of Bahia, Brazil. A total of 540 specimens were collected in August 2009 and February 2010, at three localities. The bivalve specimens were measured on their longest axis, opened, and macroscopically examined for the presence of parasites or signs of disease. They were then fixed in Davidson' solution and subjected to routine histological processing, with paraffin embedding and H&E staining; next, the specimens were examined under a light microscope. No parasites were observed associated with L. pectinata. Rickettsia-like organisms (RLOs, Sphenophrya sp. (Ciliophora, Nematopsis sp. (Apicomplexa, Urastoma sp. (Turbellaria and Bucephalus sp. (Digenea were observed in both C. rhizophorae and M. guyanensis, as well as Ancistrocoma sp. (Ciliophora and Tylocephalum sp. (Cestoda in the former. A high prevalence of Nematopsis sp. was seen, but caused no apparent damage to the host. Bucephalus sp. caused the destruction of tissues, with castration, but showed low prevalence. The other parasites occurred in low prevalence and intensity, without causing significant damage.Neste estudo foram investigados os parasitos de três espécies de bivalves de interesse econômico (Crassostrea rhizophorae, Mytella guyanensis e Lucina pectinata da Bahia. Foram analisados 540 exemplares, obtidos em duas coletas (agosto-2009 e fevereiro-2010, em três localidades. Os bivalves foram medidos quanto ao seu maior eixo, abertos e examinados macroscopicamente quanto à presença de parasitos ou sinais de enfermidades. Depois disso, foram fixados em solução de Davidson e processados por rotina de histologia, com inclusão em parafina e coloração com H&E. O material foi examinado ao microscópio de luz. Nenhum parasito esteve associado a L. pectinata. Bactérias do tipo RLOs (organismos assemelhados a

  20. The effect of some environmental factors on zooplankton community ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The zooplankton of Lake Qarun was studied January–December 2003. A total of 26 species was recorded, amongst which protozoa, primarily ciliophora, were most abundant (79% of the species total), followed by rotifera (13%) and copepoda (8%). The average density ranged from 965–1 452 l–1. The highest density (2 ...

  1. The annual planktonic protist community structure in an ice-free high Arctic fjord (Adventfjorden, West Spitsbergen)

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    Kubiszyn, A. M.; Wiktor, J. M.; Wiktor, J. M.; Griffiths, C.; Kristiansen, S.; Gabrielsen, T. M.

    2017-05-01

    We investigated the size and trophic structure of the annual planktonic protist community structure in the ice-free Adventfjorden in relation to environmental factors. Our high-resolution (weekly to monthly) study was conducted in 2012, when warm Atlantic water was advected into the fjord in winter and summer. We observed a distinct seasonality in the protist communities. The winter protist community was characterised by extremely low levels of protist abundance and biomass (primarily Dinophyceae, Ciliophora and Bacillariophyceae) in a homogenous water column. In the second half of April, the total protist abundance and biomass rapidly increased, thus initiating the spring bloom in a still well-mixed water column. The spring bloom was initially dominated by the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis pouchetii and Bacillariophyceae (primarily from the genera Thalassiosira, Fragilariopsis and Chaetoceros) and was later strictly dominated by Phaeocystis colonies. When the bloom terminated in mid-June, the community shifted towards flagellates (Dinophyceae, Ciliophora, Cryptophyceae and nanoflagellates 3-7 μm in size) in a stratified, nutrient-depleted water column. Decreases in the light intensity decreased the protist abundance and biomass, and the fall community (Dinophyceae, Cryptophyceae and Bacillariophyceae) was followed by the winter community.

  2. Application of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique as an efficient diagnostic tool for ciliate communities in soil

    OpenAIRE

    Jousset, Alexandre; Lara, Enrique; Nikolausz, Marcell; Harms, Hauke; Chatzinotasa, Antonis

    2010-01-01

    Ciliates (or Ciliophora) are ubiquitous organisms which can be widely used as bioindicators in ecosystems exposed to anthropogenic and industrial influences. The evaluation of the environmental impact on soil ciliate communities with methods relying on morphology-based identification may be hampered by the large number of samples usually required for a statistically supported, reliable conclusion. Cultivation-independent molecular-biological diagnostic tools are a promising alternative to gre...

  3. Microscopia eletrônica de varredura de parasitos branquiais de Piaractus mesopotamicus Holmberg, 1887 cultivados no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil Scanning electron microscopy of the gill parasites of cultivated Piaractus mesopotamicus Holmberg, 1887 in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

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    Maurício Laterça Martins

    2000-05-01

    Full Text Available Foram coletados 15 exemplares de Piaractus mesopotamicus (pacu, medindo em torno de 15 cm de comprimento padrão, de tanques do Centro de Aqüicultura da Unesp, Jaboticabal, SP, Brasil. Os peixes foram mantidos em aquários de 350 litros para posterior sacrifício com MS-222. Os filamentos brânquiais foram fixados em glutaraldeído a 3% para a microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Foram observados espécimes de Trichodina sp (Ciliophora, Henneguya piaractus (Myxozoa, e Anacanthorus penilabiatus (Monogenea, atacando o epitélio branquial. Neste trabalho, foram reportados a morfologia externa dos parasitos e as alterações no epitélio branquial dos peixes parasitadosFifteen specimens of Piaractus mesopotamicus (pacu, measuring 15 cm standard length, were collected from a fishpond at Aquaculture Center of Unesp, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. Fishes were maintained in 350 L aquariums for a further sacrifice with MS-222. For the Scanning Electron Microscopy, gill filaments were fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde. Specimens of Trichodina sp (Ciliophora, Henneguya piaractus (Myxozoa and Anacanthorus penilabiatus (Monogenea attacking on the gill epithelium were observed. In the present paper, the external morphology of parasites and the alterations in the gill epithelium of parasitized fishes were reported

  4. New species of Ciliates (Genus: Strombidium sp.) from hypoxic waters of the Bay of Bengal, Northern Indian Ocean

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    Elangovan, S.S.; Gauns, M.

    water (125m depth). Temperature: 20˚C, Salinity: 34.8 psu Dissolved oxygen: 0.02 ml/l Key features Cell almost heart shaped, anterior cylindrical, posterior conical. Cell almost heart shaped, anterior cylindrical, posterior conical. 10 15..., including a description of Apostrombidium parakielum spec.nov. (Ciliophora, Ologotrichia), Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 63 (2013), 1179-1191. 7. Lynn, D.H & Montagnes D.J.C., Taxonomic descriptions of some conspicuous species of Strombilidiine...

  5. Parasitofauna de cachara cultivado em tanque-rede no rio Paraguai

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    Gabriela Tomas Jeronimo

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi descrever a fauna parasitária de cachara (Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum cultivado em tanque-rede, no rio Paraguai. Dez peixes com peso médio de 598,0±81,3 g e comprimento total médio de 38,6±1,6 cm foram examinados. Todos os peixes necropsiados apresentaram infestação por pelo menos duas espécies de parasitos. Entre os parasitos, foram encontrados Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora, Myxobolus sp. e Henneguya sp. (Myxozoa, Monogenoidea, Choanoscolex abscissus e Nominoscolex sudobim (Cestoda, Dolops carvalhoi (Crustacea e Digenea. O protozoário Ichthyophthirius multifiliis foi o parasito com maior prevalência.

  6. Fauna parasitária de tambaqui Colossoma macropomum (Characidae cultivado em tanque-rede no estado do Amapá, Amazônia oriental Parasitic fauna of tambaqui Colossoma macropomum(Characidae farmed in cages in the State of Amapá, eastern Amazon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evandro Freitas Santos

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo principal deste trabalho foi estudar a parasitofauna e a relação hospedeiro- parasito em tambaqui Colossoma macropomum cultivados em tanques-rede no Rio Matapi, município de Santana, estado do Amapá, região da Amazônia oriental, Brasil. Foram examinados 60 tambaquis, dos quais 96,7% estavam parasitados por protozoários Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora e Piscinoodinium pillulare (Dinoflagellida, monogenoideas Mymarotheciun boegeri e Anacanthorus spathulatus (Dactylogyridae e sanguessugas Glossiiphonidae gen. sp. (Hirudinea. Os maiores níveis de parasitismo foram causados por protozoários I. multifiliis e P. pillulare e os menores por sanguessugas Glossiiphonidae gen. sp. Porém, os índices de infestação não tiveram efeitos na saúde dos peixes hospedeiros, uma vez que o fator de condição relativo (Kn não foi estatisticamente (pThe purpose of this paper was to evaluate the parasitic fauna and the host-parasite relationship in Colossoma macropomum farmed in cages of Matapi River, municipally of Santana, State of Amapá, in eastern Amazon, Brazil. Of 60 specimens of tambaqui examined, 96.7% were parasitized by protozoans Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora and Piscinoodinium pillulare (Dinoflagellida, monogenoideans Mymarotheciun boegeri and Anacanthorus spathulatus (Dactylogyridae, and leeches Glossiphoniidae gen. sp. (Hirudinea. The higher infestation levels were caused by protozoans I. multifiliis and P. pillulare, while the lower infestation levels were caused by leeches. No effects of parasitic infestation rates on fish health were observed. The relative condition factor (Kn was not correlated with the intensity of parasites found. This was the first record of I. multifiliis and P. pillulare in C. macropomum farmed in cages in the Brazilian Amazon.

  7. Ciliate protists from Cabiúnas Lagoon (Restinga de Jurubatiba, Macaé, Rio de Janeiro) with emphasis on water quality indicator Species and description of Oxytricha marcili sp. n.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paiva, T S; Silva-Neto, I D

    2004-08-01

    We found 34 species of ciliate protists in the samples collected by the margins of Cabiúnas Lagoon during 2001. The ciliates were cultivated in the laboratory, where they were examined in vivo and identified through silver impregnation techniques. A new species, Oxytricha marcili (Ciliophora, Oxytrichidae), was found and characterized as follows: in vivo length about 60-80 microm x 30-40 microm wide; on average 22 adoral membranelles; 18 left marginal cirri; 18 right marginal cirri; and 3 small caudal cirri. All specimens analyzed presented 7 frontal cirri (3 anterior + 4 posterior), 1 buccal cirrus, 4 ventral cirri (3 postoral + 1 pre-transverse), and 5 transverse cirri. Among the species found, some are considered as water quality indicators ranging from alpha-mesosaprobity to polysaprobity and isosaprobity.

  8. An endoparasitic trichodinid (Ciliophora: Peritrichia) from the urinary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1988-09-07

    Sep 7, 1988 ... During parasitological surveys in Gazankulu, an infection of a trichodinid peritrich was found in the urinary bladder and ureters of the three-spot barb, Barbus trimaculatus Peters, 1852, collected from Hudson-. Ntsanwisi Dam in the Olifants River system. A taxonomic description of this new species, ...

  9. A taxonomic study of sessile peritrichs (Ciliophora: Peritricha ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Three new and four known species of sessile peritrichs were identified from the crustacean ectoparasites, Lernaea barnimiana (Hartman, 1870), L. cyprinacea Linnaeus, 1758 and Dolops ranarum(Stuhimann, 1891) from various fish hosts in South Africa The new species described are: Epistylis cyprinaceae sp. n., ...

  10. First record of entodiniomorph ciliates in a carnivore, the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), from Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vynne, Carly; Kinsella, John M

    2009-06-01

    The entodiniomorph ciliates (Ciliophora: Entodiniomorphida) are endosymbiotes widely found in the intestines of herbivorous mammals. These commensals commonly occur in the Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla and have also been described in the Proboscidea, Primates, Rodentia, and Diprotodontia. This study reports the first finding of a ciliate in a member of order Carnivora, the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus). Fecal samples from wild and captive maned wolves were screened using ethyl acetate sedimentation. Prevalence in fecal samples collected from free-ranging maned wolves in Brazil was 40% (6 of 15). Fecal samples from two of four captive individuals from the St. Louis Zoo also had the same species of ciliate. The largely frugivorous diet of the maned wolf likely explains the occurrence of these normally herbivore-associated endosymbiotes in a carnivore.

  11. Diversity and distribution of parasites from potentially cultured freshwater fish in Nakhon Si Thammarat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Supamattaya, K.

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Twenty-one species from 16 genera of potentially cultured freshwater fish were examined for external and internal parasites. Ten individuals of each fish species were sampled from various places in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Eight groups, 72 species were identified and the majority was external (52 spp.. The parasites found were ciliated protozoan (2 spp., myxozoan (2 spp., monogenean (44 spp., digenean (7 spp., cestode (6 spp., nematode (6 spp., acanthocephalan (2 spp. and crustacean (3 spp.. Monogenean was regarded as a major group of parasites with 44 species. Dactylogyrus (Monogenea had the highest number of species (12 spp., whereas Trichodina pediculus (Ciliophora was the most widely distributed species observed from at least 7 fish species (7 families. Most of the parasites (72 % found in this study were specific to their host species.

  12. Ciliate protists from Cabiúnas Lagoon (Restinga de Jurubatiba, Macaé, Rio de Janeiro with emphasis on water quality indicator species and description of Oxytricha marcili sp. n.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. S. Paiva

    Full Text Available We found 34 species of ciliate protists in the samples collected by the margins of Cabiúnas Lagoon during 2001. The ciliates were cultivated in the laboratory, where they were examined in vivo and identified through silver impregnation techniques. A new species, Oxytricha marcili (Ciliophora, Oxytrichidae, was found and characterized as follows: in vivo length about 60-80 mum x 30-40 mum wide; on average 22 adoral membranelles; 18 left marginal cirri; 18 right marginal cirri; and 3 small caudal cirri. All specimens analyzed presented 7 frontal cirri (3 anterior + 4 posterior, 1 buccal cirrus, 4 ventral cirri (3 postoral + 1 pre-transverse, and 5 transverse cirri. Among the species found, some are considered as water quality indicators ranging from alpha-mesosaprobity to polysaprobity and isosaprobity.

  13. Chemoattraction of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora) theronts to host molecules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buchmann, Kurt; Nielsen, Michael Engelbrecht

    1999-01-01

    not attract theronts. In contrast, sera and mucus from a range of teleosts (including marine fish) were effective attractants. Fractionation by gel filtration of fish serum allowed determination of the molecular size of the attracting proteins. Further biochemical studies suggested the chemoattractants...

  14. (Ciliophora: Peritrichia) from the urinary bladder of Bufo gutturalis

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1988-09-07

    Sep 7, 1988 ... vesicola Suzuki, 1950 from Rana rugosa (Suzuki 1950). The question arises whether T. dampanula sp. n. may possibly be the same species as observed by Fantham. (1924) in the urinary bladder of B. regularis, i.e. T. bufonis. Owing to the fact that none of the character- istics provided by Fantham (1924) ...

  15. Factors driving the seasonal distribution of planktonic and epiphytic ciliates in a eutrophicated Mediterranean Lagoon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dhib, Amel [Université de Franche-Comté, Laboratoire de Chrono-Environnement, UMR CNRS 6249 (France); Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), Laboratoire Milieu Marin, Centre la Goulette (Tunisia); Brahim, Mounir Ben; Ziadi, Boutheina; Akrout, Fourat; Turki, Souad [Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), Laboratoire Milieu Marin, Centre la Goulette (Tunisia); Aleya, Lotfi [Université de Franche-Comté, Laboratoire de Chrono-Environnement, UMR CNRS 6249 (France)

    2013-09-15

    Highlights: • Distribution of planktonic and epiphytic ciliates at five stations in Ghar El Melh Lagoon. • 28 planktonic ciliates were identified with spring-early autumn peaks. • 4 epiphytic ciliates of the seagrass Ruppia cirrhosa were recorded with high density. • Significant correlations were found between ciliate assemblages, environmental factors and harmful dinoflagellates. -- Abstract: We studied the distribution of planktonic and epiphytic ciliates coupled with environmental factors and microalgae abundance at five stations in Ghar El Melh Lagoon (Tunisia). Planktonic ciliates were monitored for a year and epiphytic ciliates were sampled during summer 2011 in concordance with the proliferation of the seagrass Ruppia cirrhosa. Ciliate assemblage was largely dominated by Spirotrichea followed respectively by Tintinnida of and Strombidiida. No significant difference was found in the distribution of ciliate species among the stations. Redundancy analysis indicates that abiotic factors (temperature and nutriments) have a significant effect on the dynamics of certain ciliates. For epiphytic ciliates, 4 species were identified: Tintinnopsis campanula, Aspidisca sp., Strombidium acutum and Amphorides amphora. Based on PERMANOVA analyses, ciliates exhibit significant correlations among months and stations. According to ACP, epiphyte distribution follows roughly those of R. cirrhosa and pH. Significant correlations were found between harmful dinoflagellates and both planktonic and epiphytic ciliates.

  16. Factors driving the seasonal distribution of planktonic and epiphytic ciliates in a eutrophicated Mediterranean Lagoon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dhib, Amel; Brahim, Mounir Ben; Ziadi, Boutheina; Akrout, Fourat; Turki, Souad; Aleya, Lotfi

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Distribution of planktonic and epiphytic ciliates at five stations in Ghar El Melh Lagoon. • 28 planktonic ciliates were identified with spring-early autumn peaks. • 4 epiphytic ciliates of the seagrass Ruppia cirrhosa were recorded with high density. • Significant correlations were found between ciliate assemblages, environmental factors and harmful dinoflagellates. -- Abstract: We studied the distribution of planktonic and epiphytic ciliates coupled with environmental factors and microalgae abundance at five stations in Ghar El Melh Lagoon (Tunisia). Planktonic ciliates were monitored for a year and epiphytic ciliates were sampled during summer 2011 in concordance with the proliferation of the seagrass Ruppia cirrhosa. Ciliate assemblage was largely dominated by Spirotrichea followed respectively by Tintinnida of and Strombidiida. No significant difference was found in the distribution of ciliate species among the stations. Redundancy analysis indicates that abiotic factors (temperature and nutriments) have a significant effect on the dynamics of certain ciliates. For epiphytic ciliates, 4 species were identified: Tintinnopsis campanula, Aspidisca sp., Strombidium acutum and Amphorides amphora. Based on PERMANOVA analyses, ciliates exhibit significant correlations among months and stations. According to ACP, epiphyte distribution follows roughly those of R. cirrhosa and pH. Significant correlations were found between harmful dinoflagellates and both planktonic and epiphytic ciliates

  17. Free-living ciliates from epiphytic tank bromeliads in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durán-Ramírez, Carlos Alberto; García-Franco, José Guadalupe; Foissner, Wilhelm; Mayén-Estrada, Rosaura

    2015-02-01

    The ciliate diversity of Mexican bromeliads is poorly known. We studied the ciliate community of two species of epiphytic tank bromeliads from 48 individuals of Tillandsia heterophylla and four of T. prodigiosa. The bromeliads occurred on over 22 tree host species. Samples were collected during 2009 and 2010 in a mountain cloud forest and in two coffee plantations and in a pine-oak forest. The ciliates were identified in live and protargol preparations. We recorded 61 ciliate species distributed in 39 genera grouped in eight classes. Ten species were frequent in the 52 samples (20 ± 3.2) and Leptopharynx bromeliophilus was the most frequent recorded in 25 samples. Thirty-three species are new for the fauna of Mexico, 24 species have been recorded for the first time in tank bromeliads. The classes Spirotrichea, Oligohymenophorea and Colpodea presented the highest number of species, 16, 14, and 12, respectively. Colpoda was the most species-rich genus being present with six species. A low similarity between areas and seasons was obtained with Jaccard's index. We conclude that the two bromeliads species host a rich ciliate diversity whose knowledge contributes to the question of ciliate distribution and specifically, in tank bromeliads. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  18. Gravikinesis in Stylonychia mytilus is based on membrane potential changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Martin; Bräucker, Richard; Hemmersbach, Ruth

    2010-01-01

    The graviperception of the hypotrichous ciliate Stylonychia mytilus was investigated using electrophysiological methods and behavioural analysis. It is shown that Stylonychia can sense gravity and thereby compensates sedimentation rate by a negative gravikinesis. The graviresponse consists of a velocity-regulating physiological component (negative gravikinesis) and an additional orientational component. The latter is largely based on a physical mechanism but might, in addition, be affected by the frequency of ciliary reversals, which is under physiological control. We show that the external stimulus of gravity is transformed to a physiological signal, activating mechanosensitive calcium and potassium channels. Earlier electrophysiological experiments revealed that these ion channels are distributed in the manner of two opposing gradients over the surface membrane. Here, we show, for the first time, records of gravireceptor potentials in Stylonychia that are presumably based on this two-gradient system of ion channels. The gravireceptor potentials had maximum amplitudes of approximately 4 mV and slow activation characteristics (0.03 mV s(-1)). The presumptive number of involved graviperceptive ion channels was calculated and correlates with the analysis of the locomotive behaviour.

  19. Hyaline Tintinnina (Protozoa-Ciliophora-Oligotrichida from northeast Brazilian coastal reefs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Sassi

    1989-01-01

    Full Text Available Seven species of hyaline Tintinnina were obtained from plankton samples collected near the coastal reefs of Ponta do Seixas (Lat. 7º09'16"S, Long. 34º4735"W, Northeastern Brazil, from April 1981 to May 1982 and from April 1983 to May 1984: Amphorellopsis acuta (Schmidt, 1901, Dadayiella ganymedes (Entz Sr., 1884, Epiplocyloides reticulata (Ostenfeld & Schmidt, 1901, Eutintinnus tubulosus (Ostenfeld, 1899, Favella ehrenbergi (Claparède & Lachmann, 1858, Metacylis mereschkowskyi Kofoid & Campbell, 1929 and M. perspicax (Hada, 1938. The most frequent and abundant species were M. mereschkowskyi and F. ehrenbergi. Except/.ganymedes, E. reticulata and F. ehrenbergi all species are new records from Brazil. Metacylis perspicax is also the seventh world register. For all species we provide description, drawings, measurements, seasonal occurrence, world distribution and some systematic comments.

  20. The effects of different fertilizers on the ciliate communities of forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehle, E.; Funke, W.

    1993-01-01

    The influence of lime, mineral fertilizers and different composts on the ciliate communities (Protozoa: Ciliophora) of very acidified spruce forests were tested. In succession culture experiments species range, total numbers, abundance and dominance structure of the ciliate communities showed continued changes over a 90 day period. This method offers the opportunity not only to diagnose, but also to quantify effects of soil treatments. Investigations at the ARINUS-site Schluchsee (Black Forest) showed the following results: Liming led to a greater change in the ciliate communities than fertilization with magnesium-sulphate and ammonia-sulphate. Liming and treatment with compost, made from household garbage, and compost, made from chopped wood on the Beimerstetten site (Swabian Alb) led also to remarkably changes in the ciliate communities. The total ciliate numbers of the household garbage area were very low. In contrast, the ciliate community of the chopped wood compost areas were characterized by a great species number and high abundances of spirotrichuous ciliates, especially Halteria grandinella. (orig./UWA) [de

  1. Environmental requirements of selected estuarine ciliated Protozoa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borror, A.C.

    1975-05-01

    This report addresses species composition and microdistribution of ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) of a tidal marsh at Adams Pt., Great Bay, New Hampshire (1970, 1971) in relationship to temperature, salinity, pH, concentration of oxygen, H 2 S, and bacteria, and occurrence of micrometazoa. Accurate counting and precise identification allowed measurement of tidal effects on ciliate abundance and diversity, and the relationship of ciliates to micrometazoa and bacteria. During 1970, we identified 79 species in 175 collections; during 1971, 83 species in 102 collections. Although in general ciliate distribution was not correlated with temperature, salinity, pH, or oxygen concentration, some species were tolerant of anoxic environments. Ciliates differed in distribution between the upper (Spartina patens) and the lower (S. alterniflora) marsh. We measured responses of bacteria and ciliates to the physical and biological changes in a patens-panne pond caused by tidal flushing, and to the flushing of a channel in the lower marsh by several different tidal cycles. (U.S.)

  2. Patchiness of Ciliate Communities Sampled at Varying Spatial Scales along the New England Shelf.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-David Grattepanche

    Full Text Available Although protists (microbial eukaryotes provide an important link between bacteria and Metazoa in food webs, we do not yet have a clear understanding of the spatial scales on which protist diversity varies. Here, we use a combination of DNA fingerprinting (denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis or DGGE and high-throughput sequencing (HTS to assess the ciliate community in the class Spirotrichea at varying scales of 1-3 km sampled in three locations separated by at least 25 km-offshore, midshelf and inshore-along the New England shelf. Analyses of both abundant community (DGGE and the total community (HTS members reveal that: 1 ciliate communities are patchily distributed inshore (i.e. the middle station of a transect is distinct from its two neighboring stations, whereas communities are more homogeneous among samples within the midshelf and offshore stations; 2 a ciliate closely related to Pelagostrobilidium paraepacrum 'blooms' inshore and; 3 environmental factors may differentially impact the distributions of individual ciliates (i.e. OTUs rather than the community as a whole as OTUs tend to show distinct biogeographies (e.g. some OTUs are restricted to the offshore locations, some to the surface, etc.. Together, these data show the complexity underlying the spatial distributions of marine protists, and suggest that biogeography may be a property of ciliate species rather than communities.

  3. First record of Trichodina heterodentata (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae) from Arapaima gigas cultivated in Peru Primeiro registro de Trichodina heterodentata (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae) em Arapaima gigas cultivados no Peru

    OpenAIRE

    Luis Henostroza Miranda; Natalia Marchiori; Carmela Rebaza Alfaro; Maurício Laterça Martins

    2012-01-01

    This study characterized morphologically Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 from cultivated fingerlings of "pirarucu" Arapaima gigas in Peru. Body and gill smears were air-dried at room temperature, impregnated with silver nitrate and/or stained with gomori trichromic. Prevalence was 100%. Trichodina heterodentata was considered a medium-sized trichodinid with mean body diameter of 56.0+ 5.25 (47.3-76.0) μm, denticulate ring 28.21± 2.71 (20-34.7) μm, adhesive disc 45.7±3.8 (37.1-...

  4. First record of Trichodina heterodentata (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae from Arapaima gigas cultivated in Peru Primeiro registro de Trichodina heterodentata (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae em Arapaima gigas cultivados no Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis Henostroza Miranda

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available This study characterized morphologically Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 from cultivated fingerlings of "pirarucu" Arapaima gigas in Peru. Body and gill smears were air-dried at room temperature, impregnated with silver nitrate and/or stained with gomori trichromic. Prevalence was 100%. Trichodina heterodentata was considered a medium-sized trichodinid with mean body diameter of 56.0+ 5.25 (47.3-76.0 μm, denticulate ring 28.21± 2.71 (20-34.7 μm, adhesive disc 45.7±3.8 (37.1-57.3 μm diameter and number of denticles of 20.7± 2.6 (12-24. The present study reports not only the first occurrence of T. heterodentata in Peru but also the first record of this trichodinid infesting A. gigas. Camparative tables of all reports of T. heterodentata are also presented.Este estudo caracterizou morfologicamente Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 de alevinos de "pirarucu" Arapaima gigas cultivados no Peru. Esfregaços do corpo e brânquias foram secos à temperatura ambiente, impregnados com nitrato de prata e/ou corados com tricrômico de gômori. A prevalência foi de 100%. Trichodina heterodentata foi considerada um tricodinídeo de tamanho médio com diâmetro médio do corpo de 56,0+ 5,25 (47,3-76,0 μm, anel denticulado 28,21± 2,71 (20,0-34,7 μm, disco adesivo 45,7±3,8 (37,1-57,3 μm de diâmetro e número de dentículos de 20,7± 2,6 (12-24. O presente estudo registra não somente a primeira ocorrência de T. heterodentata no Peru mas também o primeiro registro do tricodinídeo parasitando A. gigas. Tabelas comparativas biométricas de todos os registros de T. heterodentata também são apresentados.

  5. Seasonal variation of the protozooplanktonic community in a tropical oligotrophic environment (Ilha Solteira reservoir, Brazil).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansano, A S; Hisatugo, K F; Leite, M A; Luzia, A P; Regali-Seleghim, M H

    2013-05-01

    The seasonal variation of the protozooplanktonic community (ciliates and testate amoebae) was studied in a tropical oligotrophic reservoir in Brazil, which was under the influence of two contrasting climatic seasons (rainy/warm and dry/cold). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of these climatic changes on physical, chemical and biological variables in the dynamic of this community. The highest mean density of total protozoans occurred in the rainy/warm season (5683.2 ind L-1), while the lowest was in the dry/cold (2016.0 ind L-1). Considering the seasonal variations, the protozoan groups that are truly planktonic, such as the oligotrichs (Spirotrichea), predominated in the dry season, whereas during the rainy season, due to the material input and resuspension of sediment, sessile protozoans of the Peritrichia group were the most important ones. The dominant protozoans were Urotricha globosa, Cothurnia annulata, Pseudodifflugia sp. and Halteria grandinella. The highest densities of H. grandinella were associated with more oxygenated and transparent water conditions, while the highest densities of C. annulata occurred in sites with high turbidity, pH and trophic state index (TSI). The study demonstrated that density and composition of protozooplanktonic species and groups of the reservoir suffered seasonal variation due to the environmental variables (mainly temperature, turbidity, water transparency, dissolved oxygen and TSI) and the biological variables (e.g. morphological characteristics, eating habits and escape strategies from predation of the species).

  6. Helminthes and protozoan of farmed pirarucu (Arapaima gigas in eastern Amazon and host-parasite relationship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R.G.B. Marinho

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The parasitofauna in the giant Amazon basin, pirarucu (Arapaima gigas Schinz, 1822 cultured in fish farms from the state of Amapá, in eastern Amazonia (Brazil was investigated. Of the 100 examined fish, 90.0% were parasitized by Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora, Dawestrema cycloancistrium, Dawestrema cycloancistrioides (Monogenoidea and Polyacanthorhynchus macrorhynchus (Acanthocephala, which had an aggregated distribution pattern. The highest infection rates were caused by I. multifiliis and the lowest by P. macrorhynchus. Infection rates were different for each fish farm, due to different water quality and management characteristics. A negative correlation was found between the intensity of monogenoideans D. cycloancistrium and D. cycloancistrioides and the relative condition factor (Kn, but the welfare of fish was not affected by parasitism. The number of I. multifiliis was positively correlated with the weight and total length of hosts, while the intensity of monogenoideans was negatively correlated with body weight and total length. This study is the first to record the occurrence of P. macrorhynchus in A. gigas farmed in Amazon.

  7. Trichodina nobilis Chen, 1963 and Trichodina reticulata Hirschmann et Partsch, 1955 from ornamental freshwater fishes in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ML Martins

    Full Text Available In the present work Trichodina reticulata and T. nobilis (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae are morphologically characterised from ornamental freshwater fish culture in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The prevalence of infection and a list of comparative measurements are discussed. We examined "southern platyfish" Xiphophorus maculatus (n = 35, "goldfish" Carassius auratus (n = 31, "guppy" Poecilia reticulata (n = 20, "sailfin molly" Poecilia latipinna (n = 6, "beta" Betta splendens (n = 2 and "spotted headstander" Chilodus punctatus (n = 1. After being anesthetised in a benzocaine solution, fishes were examined for parasitological evaluation. A total of 51.57% fishes were parasitised by Trichodina spp. Carassius auratus was the most parasitised species, followed by X. maculatus and P. reticulata. Beta splendens, C. punctatus and P. latipinna were not parasitised by any trichodinid species. Two species of Trichodina were collected from the skin of fish: T. nobilis was found in C. auratus, P. reticulata and X. maculatus and T. reticulata was only observed in C. auratus. The importance of adequate handling in ornamental fish culture are also discussed.

  8. The fate of deleted DNA produced during programmed genomic deletion events in Tetrahymena thermophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saveliev, S V; Cox, M M

    1994-01-01

    Thousands of DNA deletion events occur during macronuclear development in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila. In two deleted genomic regions, designated M and R, the eliminated sequences form circles that can be detected by PCR. However, the circles are not normal products of the reaction pathway. The circular forms occur at very low levels in conjugating cells, but are stable. Sequencing analysis showed that many of the circles (as many as 50% of those examined) reflected a precise deletion in the M and R regions. The remaining circles were either smaller or larger and contained varying lengths of sequences derived from the chromosomal DNA surrounding the eliminated region. The chromosomal junctions left behind after deletion were more precise, although deletions in either the M or R regions can generate any of several alternative junctions (1). Some new chromosomal junctions were detected in the present study. The results suggest that the deleted segment is released as a linear DNA species that is degraded rapidly. The species is only rarely converted to the stable circles we detect. The deletion mechanism is different from those proposed for deletion events in hypotrichous ciliates (2-4), and does not reflect a conservative site-specific recombination process such as that promoted by the bacteriophage lambda integrase (5). Images PMID:7838724

  9. Haematological and gill responses in parasitized tilapia from valley of Tijucas River, SC, Brazil Respostas hematológica e branquial de tilápia parasitada do vale do Rio Tijucas, SC, Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Maslowa Pegado de Azevedo

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available In the State of Santa Catarina there is no information about haematological and parasitological characteristics of fish maintained in feefishing operations and manured ponds. This work compared the haematological characteristics of Nile tilapia parasitized or not, captured in a property situated in Nova Trento, SC, Brazil, between August 2003 and July 2004. During the studied period, the water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, ammonia and transparency were measured. Ten fish were collected monthly either in a feefishing or in a pond receiving pig manure, and anesthetized with benzocaine solution for haematological, parasitological and histopathological exams. From a total of 360 analyzed fish, 64 (17.8% were parasitized with Cichlidogyrus sclerosus and Cichlidogyrus sp. (Monogenoidea: Ancyrocephalidae, 20 (5.5% with Trichodina sp. (Protozoa: Ciliophora, and four (1.1% with Lamproglena sp. (Crustacea: Lernaeidae. The total number of erythrocytes, thrombocytes and leucocytes, glucose rate and the percentages of hematocrit, lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils did not show relation with parasitism. Histopathological analysis showed moderate hyperplasia and absence of congestion. The low level of parasitism found in the animals was not responsible for haematological alterations.No Estado de Santa Catarina não existe informação sobre características hematológicas e parasitológicas que compare peixes mantidos em pesque-pague e com dejetos de suínos. Este trabalho estudou as características hematológicas da tilápia do Nilo parasitada ou não, capturada numa propriedade em Nova Trento, SC, Brasil, entre agosto de 2003 e julho de 2004. Durante o período a temperatura da água, pH, oxigênio, alcalinidade e transparência foram medidos. Dez peixes foram mensalmente coletados no pesque-pague e num viveiro que recebia dejetos de suínos, anestesiados com benzocaína para análise hematológica, parasitológica e histopatol

  10. Morphological and molecular characterization of Paramecium (Viridoparamecium nov. subgen.) chlorelligerum Kahl (Ciliophora).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreutz, Martin; Stoeck, Thorsten; Foissner, Wilhelm

    2012-01-01

    We redescribe Paramecium chlorelligerum, a forgotten species, which Kahl (Tierwelt Dtl., 1935, 30:651) briefly but precisely described in the addendum to his ciliate monographs as a Paramecium with symbiotic green algae. The redescription is based on classical morphological methods and the analysis of the small subunit (SSU) rDNA. Morphologically, P. chlorelligerum differs from P. (C.) bursaria, the second green species in the genus, by having a special swimming shape, the length of the caudal cilia, the size of the micronucleus, the size of the symbiotic algae, the contractile vacuoles (with collecting vesicles vs. collecting canals), and the number of excretory pores/contractile vacuole (1 vs. 2-3). The molecular investigations show that P. chlorelligerum forms a distinct branch distant from the P. (Chloroparamecium) bursaria clade. Thus, we classify P. chlorelligerum in a new subgenus: Paramecium (Viridoparamecium) chlorelligerum. The symbiotic alga belongs to the little-known genus Meyerella, as yet recorded only from the plankton of a North American lake. © 2012 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2012 International Society of Protistologists.

  11. Sources of mycosporine-like amino acids in planktonic Chlorella-bearing ciliates (Ciliophora)

    Science.gov (United States)

    SONNTAG, BETTINA; SUMMERER, MONIKA; SOMMARUGA, RUBEN

    2007-01-01

    Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are a family of secondary metabolites known to protect organisms exposed to solar UV radiation. We tested their distribution among several planktonic ciliates bearing Chlorella isolated from an oligo-mesotrophic lake in Tyrol, Austria. In order to test the origin of these compounds, the MAAs were assessed by high performance liquid chromatography in both the ciliates and their symbiotic algae. Considering all Chlorella-bearing ciliates, we found: (i) seven different MAAs (mycosporine-glycine, palythine, asterina-330, shinorine, porphyra-334, usujirene, palythene); (ii) one to several MAAs per species and (iii) qualitative and quantitative seasonal changes in the MAAs (e.g. in Pelagodileptus trachelioides). In all species tested, concentrations of MAAs were always <1% of ciliate dry weight. Several MAAs were also identified in the Chlorella isolated from the ciliates, thus providing initial evidence for their symbiotic origin. In Uroleptus sp., however, we found evidence for a dietary source of MAAs. Our results suggest that accumulation of MAAs in Chlorella-bearing ciliates represents an additional benefit of this symbiosis and an adaptation for survival in sunlit, UV-exposed waters.

  12. Taxonomic Redescription of Loxophyllum perihoplophorum and L. rostratum (Ciliophora: Pleurostomatida from Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim, Se-Joo

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Two pleurostomatid ciliates, Loxophyllum perihoplophorum Buddenbrock, 1920 and L. rostratum Cohn, 1866, were collected from the coastal waters of the East Sea, Korea. Their morphologies are described based on live observation and protargol staining, and morphometrics are provided. Loxophyllum perihoplophorum is characterized by the following features: 200-650 μm long in vivo; body slender leaf-shaped, flexible and contractile, with thin and wide extrusome-belted zone; 2 macronuclear nodules (Ma and 1 micronucleus (Mi; 7-9 contractile vacuoles (CV positioned along dorsal margin; extrusomes (Ex evenly distributed along edge of entire body, with about 10 dorsal warts (Wa; 9-11 left (LSK and 19-22 right somatic kineties (RSK, 4-5 furrows (Fu on left side. Loxophyllum rostratum is about 100-130 μm long in vivo; body oblate leaf-shaped, contractile, convex ventral side and S-shaped dorsal side, beak-like anterior end; 2 Ma and 1 Mi; 1 CV terminally located; Ex distributed along edge of entire body, with about 9-10 dorsal Wa; 7-8 LSK and 15-19 RSK, ca. 5 Fu on left body side. In addition, sequences of small subunit ribosomal DNA were determined from these two Loxophyllum species and compared with the known Loxophyllum sequences.

  13. An Antarctic hypotrichous ciliate, Parasterkiella thompsoni (Foissner) nov. gen., nov. comb., recorded in Argentinean peat-bogs: morphology, morphogenesis, and molecular phylogeny.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Küppers, Gabriela Cristina; Paiva, Thiago da Silva; Borges, Bárbara do Nascimento; Harada, Maria Lúcia; Garraza, Gabriela González; Mataloni, Gabriela

    2011-05-01

    The ciliate Parasterkiella thompsoni (Foissner, 1996) nov. gen., nov. comb. was originally described from Antarctica. In the present study, we report the morphology, morphogenesis during cell division, and molecular phylogeny inferred from the 18S-rDNA sequence of a population isolated from the Rancho Hambre peat bog, Tierra del Fuego Province (Argentina). The study is based on live and protargol-impregnated specimens. Molecular phylogeny was inferred from trees constructed by means of the maximum parsimony, neighbor joining, and Bayesian analyses. The interphase morphology matches the original description of the species. During the cell division, stomatogenesis begins with the de novo proliferation of two fields of basal bodies, each one left of the postoral ventral cirri and of transverse cirri, which later unify. Primordia IV-VI of the proter develop from disaggregation of cirrus IV/3, while primordium IV of the opisthe develops from cirrus IV/2 and primordia V and VI from cirrus V/4. Dorsal morphogenesis occurs in the Urosomoida pattern-that is, the fragmentation of kinety 3 is lacking. Three macronuclear nodules are generated before cytokinesis. Phylogenetic analyses consistently placed P. thompsoni within the stylonychines. New data on the morphogenesis of the dorsal ciliature justifies the transference of Sterkiella thompsoni to a new genus Parasterkiella. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  14. Parasitic fauna in hybrid tambacu from fish farms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronilson Macedo Silva

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to evaluate the parasitic fauna of hybrid tambacu (Colossoma macropomum x Piaractus mesopotamicus from fish farms and the host-parasite relationship. A hundred and fourteen fish were collected from four fish farms in Macapá, in the state of Amapá, Brazil, 80.7% of which were infected by: Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora; Piscinoodinium pillulare (Dinoflagellida; Anacanthorus spatulatus, Notozothecium janauachensis, and Mymarothecium viatorum (Monogenoidea; Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae (Acanthocephala; Cucullanus colossomi (Nematoda; Perulernaea gamitanae (Lernaeidae; and Proteocephalidae larvae (Cestoda. A total of 8,136,252 parasites were collected from the examined fish. This is the first record of N. buttnerae, C. colossomi, N. janauachensis, M. viatorum, and Proteocephalidae for hybrid tambacu in Brazil. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis was the most prevalent parasite, whereas endohelminths were the less. A positive correlation was observed between number of I. multifiliis and total length and weight of fish, as well as between number of P. gamitanae and total length. The infection by I. multifiliis had association with the parasitism by Monogenoidea. Low water quality contributes to high parasitism of hybrid tambacu by ectoparasites, which, however, does not influence the relative condition factor of fish.

  15. Evidence of Taxa-, Clone-, and Kin-discrimination in Protists: Ecological and Evolutionary Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, Avelina; Paz-Y-Miño-C, Guillermo

    2014-11-01

    Unicellular eukaryotes, or protists, are among the most ancient organisms on Earth. Protists belong to multiple taxonomic groups; they are widely distributed geographically and in all environments. Their ability to discriminate among con- and heterospecifics has been documented during the past decade. Here we discuss exemplar cases of taxa-, clone-, and possible kin-discrimination in five major lineages: Mycetozoa ( Dictyostelium , Polysphondylium ), Dikarya ( Saccharomyces ), Ciliophora ( Tetrahymena ), Apicomplexa ( Plasmodium ) and Archamoebae ( Entamoeba ). We summarize the proposed genetic mechanisms involved in discrimination-mediated aggregation (self versus different), including the csA , FLO and trg (formerly lag ) genes, and the Proliferation Activation Factors (PAFs), which facilitate clustering in some protistan taxa. We caution about the experimental challenges intrinsic to studying recognition in protists, and highlight the opportunities for exploring the ecology and evolution of complex forms of cell-cell communication, including social behavior, in a polyphyletic, still superficially understood group of organisms. Because unicellular eukaryotes are the evolutionary precursors of multicellular life, we infer that their mechanisms of taxa-, clone-, and possible kin-discrimination gave origin to the complex diversification and sophistication of traits associated with species and kin recognition in plants, fungi, invertebrates and vertebrates.

  16. High protists diversity in the plankton of sulfurous lakes and lagoons examined by 18s rRNA gene sequence analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triadó-Margarit, Xavier; Casamayor, Emilio O

    2015-12-01

    Diversity of small protists was studied in sulfidic and anoxic (euxinic) stratified karstic lakes and coastal lagoons by 18S rRNA gene analyses. We hypothesized a major sulfide effect, reducing protist diversity and richness with only a few specialized populations adapted to deal with low-redox conditions and high-sulfide concentrations. However, genetic fingerprinting suggested similar ecological diversity in anoxic and sulfurous than in upper oxygen rich water compartments with specific populations inhabiting euxinic waters. Many of them agreed with genera previously identified by microscopic observations, but also new and unexpected groups were detected. Most of the sequences matched a rich assemblage of Ciliophora (i.e., Coleps, Prorodon, Plagiopyla, Strombidium, Metopus, Vorticella and Caenomorpha, among others) and algae (mainly Cryptomonadales). Unidentified Cercozoa, Fungi, Stramenopiles and Discoba were recurrently found. The lack of GenBank counterparts was higher in deep hypolimnetic waters and appeared differentially allocated in the different taxa, being higher within Discoba and lower in Cryptophyceae. A larger number of populations than expected were specifically detected in the deep sulfurous waters, with unknown ecological interactions and metabolic capabilities. © 2015 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Paramecium (Viridoparamecium nov. subgen.) chlorelligerum Kahl, 1935 (Ciliophora)

    Science.gov (United States)

    KREUTZ, MARTIN; STOECK, THORSTEN; FOISSNER, WILHELM

    2013-01-01

    We redescribe Paramecium chlorelligerum, a forgotten species, which Kahl (1935) briefly but precisely described in the addendum to his ciliate monographs as a Paramecium with symbiotic green algae. The redescription is based on classical morphological methods and the analysis of the small subunit (SSU) rDNA. Morphologically, P. chlorelligerum differs from P. (Chloroparamecium) bursaria, the second green species in the genus, by having a special swimming shape, the length of the caudal cilia, the size of the micronucleus, the size of the symbiotic algae, the contractile vacuoles (with collecting vesicles vs. collecting canals), and the number of excretory pores /contractile vacuole (1 vs. 2--3). The molecular investigations show that P. chlorelligerum forms a distinct branch distant from the P. (Chloroparamecium) bursaria clade. Thus, we classify P. chlorelligerum in a new subgenus: Paramecium (Viridoparamecium) chlorelligerum. The symbiotic alga belongs to the little-known genus Meyerella, as yet recorded only from the plankton of a North American lake. PMID:22827482

  18. Phytoplankton growth inhibited by the toxic and bacterivorous ciliate Uronema marinum (Protozoa, Ciliophora)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaafsma, F. L.; Peperzak, L.

    2013-01-01

    The ubiquitous marine ciliate Uronema marinum is mainly bacterivorous. It was therefore surprising that in a ciliate-contaminated experiment the growth rate of the phytoplankton species Emiliania huxleyi was significantly reduced. As U. marinum does not ingest E. huxleyi cells, their growth

  19. Association of Paramecium bursaria Chlorella viruses with Paramecium bursaria cells: ultrastructural studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yashchenko, Varvara V; Gavrilova, Olga V; Rautian, Maria S; Jakobsen, Kjetill S

    2012-05-01

    Paramecium bursaria Chlorella viruses were observed by applying transmission electron microscopy in the native symbiotic system Paramecium bursaria (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) and the green algae Chlorella (Chlorellaceae, Trebouxiophyceae). Virus particles were abundant and localized in the ciliary pits of the cortex and in the buccal cavity of P. bursaria. This was shown for two types of the symbiotic systems associated with two types of Chlorella viruses - Pbi or NC64A. A novel quantitative stereological approach was applied to test whether virus particles were distributed randomly on the Paramecium surface or preferentially occupied certain zones. The ability of the virus to form an association with the ciliate was investigated experimentally; virus particles were mixed with P. bursaria or with symbiont-free species P. caudatum. Our results confirmed that in the freshwater ecosystems two types of P. bursaria -Chlorella symbiotic systems exist, those without Chlorella viruses and those associated with a large amount of the viruses. The fate of Chlorella virus particles at the Paramecium surface was determined based on obtained statistical data and taking into account ciliate feeding currents and cortical reorganization during cell division. A life cycle of the viruses in the complete symbiotic system is proposed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  20. Survey of Paramecium duboscqui using three markers and assessment of the molecular variability in the genus Paramecium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boscaro, Vittorio; Fokin, Sergei I; Verni, Franco; Petroni, Giulio

    2012-12-01

    The genus Paramecium (phylum Ciliophora) is one of the best-known among protozoa. Nevertheless, the knowledge on the diversity and distribution of species within this genus was remarkably scarce until recent times. In the last years a constantly growing amount of data has formed, especially on the distribution of species and the characterization of molecular markers. Much effort has been made on detecting clades inside each morphospecies, which could suggest the presence of sibling species complexes as in the famous case of Paramecium aurelia. In this work we present new data on Paramecium duboscqui, one of the morphospecies that have not yet been surveyed employing DNA sequences as markers. We obtained data from nine strains sampled around the world, using the three most commonly employed markers (18S rRNA gene, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and COI gene sequences). Moreover, we compared our results with those already available for other Paramecium species, and performed phylogenetic analyses for the entire genus. We also expanded the knowledge on the ITS2 secondary structure and its usefulness in studies on Paramecium. Our approach, that considers the data of all the species together, highlighted some characteristic patterns as well as some ambiguities that should be further investigated. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Ciliates from ancient permafrost: Assessment of cold resistance of the resting cysts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shatilovich, Anastasia; Stoupin, Daniel; Rivkina, Elizaveta

    2015-06-01

    There is evidence that resting cysts of soil ciliates and numerous taxa of other protists can survive in permafrost for thousands of years at subzero temperatures; however, our knowledge about mechanisms of long term cryobiosis remains incomplete. In order to better understand the means by which ancient cysts survive, we investigated resistance to cyclical supercooling stress of resting cysts of the soil ciliate Colpoda steinii (Colpodida, Ciliophora). Three clonal strains were used for comparison, isolated from Siberian tundra soil, ancient Holocene (5-7,000 y) and late Pleistocene (32-35,000 y) permafrost sediments. To determine the viability of the ancient and contemporary ciliate cysts we improved and validated a cultivation-independent method of vital fluorescent staining with a combination of two nucleic acid binding dyes, acridine orange and propidium iodide. The viability of Colpoda steinii cysts during low-temperature experiments was measured using both the proposed vital fluorescent staining method and standard germination test. Our results indicate that the dual-fluorescence technique is a more accurate, rapid, and efficient method for estimating cyst viability. We found that cysts of ancient ciliates display lower tolerance to the impact of cyclical cold compared to cysts of contemporary ciliates from Siberian permafrost affected soils. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  2. Extracellular DNA amplicon sequencing reveals high levels of benthic eukaryotic diversity in the central Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Pearman, John K.

    2015-11-01

    The present study aims to characterize the benthic eukaryotic biodiversity patterns at a coarse taxonomic level in three areas of the central Red Sea (a lagoon, an offshore area in Thuwal and a shallow coastal area near Jeddah) based on extracellular DNA. High-throughput amplicon sequencing targeting the V9 region of the 18S rRNA gene was undertaken for 32 sediment samples. High levels of alpha-diversity were detected with 16,089 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) being identified. The majority of the OTUs were assigned to Metazoa (29.2%), Alveolata (22.4%) and Stramenopiles (17.8%). Stramenopiles (Diatomea) and Alveolata (Ciliophora) were frequent in a lagoon and in shallower coastal stations, whereas metazoans (Arthropoda: Maxillopoda) were dominant in deeper offshore stations. Only 24.6% of total OTUs were shared among all areas. Beta-diversity was generally lower between the lagoon and Jeddah (nearshore) than between either of those and the offshore area, suggesting a nearshore–offshore biodiversity gradient. The current approach allowed for a broad-range of benthic eukaryotic biodiversity to be analysed with significantly less labour than would be required by other traditional taxonomic approaches. Our findings suggest that next generation sequencing techniques have the potential to provide a fast and standardised screening of benthic biodiversity at large spatial and temporal scales.

  3. Application of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique as an efficient diagnostic tool for ciliate communities in soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jousset, Alexandre; Lara, Enrique; Nikolausz, Marcell; Harms, Hauke; Chatzinotas, Antonis

    2010-02-01

    Ciliates (or Ciliophora) are ubiquitous organisms which can be widely used as bioindicators in ecosystems exposed to anthropogenic and industrial influences. The evaluation of the environmental impact on soil ciliate communities with methods relying on morphology-based identification may be hampered by the large number of samples usually required for a statistically supported, reliable conclusion. Cultivation-independent molecular-biological diagnostic tools are a promising alternative to greatly simplify and accelerate such studies. In this present work a ciliate-specific fingerprint method based on the amplification of a phylogenetic marker gene (i.e. the 18S ribosomal RNA gene) with subsequent analysis by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was developed and used to monitor community shifts in a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) polluted soil. The semi-nested approach generated ciliate-specific amplification products from all soil samples and allowed to distinguish community profiles from a PAH-polluted and a non-polluted control soil. Subsequent sequence analysis of excised bands provided evidence that polluted soil samples are dominated by organisms belonging to the class Colpodea. The general DGGE approach presented in this study might thus in principle serve as a fast and reproducible diagnostic tool, complementing and facilitating future ecological and ecotoxicological monitoring of ciliates in polluted habitats. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Consistent patterns of high alpha and low beta diversity in tropical parasitic and free-living protists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lentendu, Guillaume; Mahé, Frédéric; Bass, David; Rueckert, Sonja; Stoeck, Thorsten; Dunthorn, Micah

    2018-05-30

    Tropical animals and plants are known to have high alpha diversity within forests, but low beta diversity between forests. By contrast, it is unknown whether microbes inhabiting the same ecosystems exhibit similar biogeographic patterns. To evaluate the biogeographies of tropical protists, we used metabarcoding data of species sampled in the soils of three lowland Neotropical rainforests. Taxa-area and distance-decay relationships for three of the dominant protist taxa and their subtaxa were estimated at both the OTU and phylogenetic levels, with presence-absence and abundance-based measures. These estimates were compared to null models. High local alpha and low regional beta diversity patterns were consistently found for both the parasitic Apicomplexa and the largely free-living Cercozoa and Ciliophora. Similar to animals and plants, the protists showed spatial structures between forests at the OTU and phylogenetic levels, and only at the phylogenetic level within forests. These results suggest that the biogeographies of macro- and micro-organismal eukaryotes in lowland Neotropical rainforests are partially structured by the same general processes. However, and unlike the animals and plants, the protist OTUs did not exhibit spatial structures within forests, which hinders our ability to estimate the local and regional diversity of protists in tropical forests. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. An overview of Suctorian ciliates (Ciliophora, Suctorea) as epibionts of halacarid mites (Acari, Halacaridae)

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Dovgal, I.; Chatterjee, T.; Ingole, B.S.

    Subclass Exogenia Collin Order Metacinetida Jankowski Family Paracinetidae Jankowski Limnoricus ceter Jankowski, 1981 (Fig. 1–3) Diagnosis: Marine commensal, loricate, suctorian ciliate with stalk delimited from posterior margin of lorica. Both lorica...–11) =Thecacineta halacari Schulz, 1933 DOVGAL ET AL.62 · Zootaxa 1810 © 2008 Magnolia Press =Lissacineta allgeni Jankowski, 1981, syn. n. =Thecacineta allgeni (Jankowski, 1981), syn. n. Diagnosis: Marine suctorians with stylotheca. Cell body, slightly...

  6. Pseudonotohymena antarctica n. g., n. sp. (Ciliophora, Hypotricha), a New Species from Antarctic Soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Kyung-Min; Jung, Jae-Ho; Min, Gi-Sik; Kim, Sanghee

    2017-07-01

    A new soil ciliate, Pseudonotohymena antarctica n. g., n. sp., from King George Island, Antarctica, is described based on live observation, protargol impregnation, and its 18S rRNA gene. The new genus Pseudonotohymena is morphologically similar to the genus Notohymena Blatterer and Foissner in the following characteristics: 18 fronto-ventral-transverse cirri, a flexible body, undulating membranes, dorsomarginal kineties, and the number of cirri in the marginal rows. However, Pseudonotohymena differs from Notohymena particularly in the dorsal ciliature, that is, in possessing a nonfragmented dorsal kinety (vs. fragmented). In addition, the molecular phylogenetic relationship of the new species differs from that of Notohymena species. On the basis of the morphological features, the genetic data, and morphogenesis, we establish P. antarctica n. g., n. sp. In addition, the cyst morphology of this species is described. © 2016 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2016 International Society of Protistologists.

  7. Molecular phylogenetic lineage of Plagiopogon and Askenasia (Protozoa, Ciliophora) revealed by their gene sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, An; Yi, Zhenzhen; Lin, Xiaofeng; Hu, Xiaozhong; Al-Farraj, Saleh A.; Al-Rasheid, Khaled A. S.

    2015-08-01

    Prostomates and haptorians are two basal groups of ciliates with limited morphological characteristics available for taxonomy. Morphologically, the structures used to identify prostomates and haptorians are similar or even identical, which generate heavy taxonomic and phylogenetic confusion. In present work, phylogenetic positions lineage of two rare genera, Plagiopogon and Askenasia, were investigated. Three genes including small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (hereafter SSU rDNA), internal transcribed spacer region (ITS region), and large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (LSU rDNA) were analyzed, 10 new sequences five species each. Our findings included 1) class Prostomatea and order Haptorida are multiphyletic; 2) it may not be appropriate to place order Cyclotrichiida in subclass Haptoria, and the systematic lineage of order Cyclotrichiida needs to be verified further; 3) genus Plagiopogon branches consistently within a clade covering most prostomes and is basal of clade Colepidae, implying its close lineage to Prostomatea; and 4) Askenasia is phylogenetically distant from the subclass Haptoria but close to classes Prostomatea, Plagiopylea and Oligohymenophorea. We supposed that the toxicyst of Askenasia may be close to taxa of prostomes instead of haptorians, and the dorsal brush is a more typical morphological characteristics of haptorians than toxicysts.

  8. Ecogeochemistry of the subsurface food web at pH 0–2.5 in Iron Mountain, California, U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, Eleanora I.; Rodgers , Teresa M.; Alpers, Charles N.; Nordstrom, D. Kirk

    2000-01-01

    Pyrite oxidation in the underground mining environment of Iron Mountain, California, has created the most acidic pH values ever reported in aquatic systems. Sulfate values as high as 120 000 mg l−1 and iron as high as 27 600 mg l−1 have been measured in the mine water, which also carries abundant other dissolved metals including Al, Zn, Cu, Cd, Mn, Sb and Pb. Extreme acidity and high metal concentrations apparently do not preclude the presence of an underground acidophilic food web, which has developed with bacterial biomass at the base and heliozoans as top predators. Slimes, oil-like films, flexible and inflexible stalactites, sediments, water and precipitates were found to have distinctive communities. A variety of filamentous and non-filamentous bacteria grew in slimes in water having pH values <1.0. Fungal hyphae colonize stalactites dripping pH 1.0 water; they may help to form these drip structures. Motile hypotrichous ciliates and bdelloid rotifers are particularly abundant in slimes having a pH of 1.5. Holdfasts of the iron bacterium Leptothrix discophora attach to biofilms covering pools of standing water having a pH of 2.5 in the mine. The mine is not a closed environment – people, forced air flow and massive flushing during high intensity rainfall provide intermittent contact between the surface and underground habitats, so the mine ecosystem probably is not a restricted one.

  9. Ecogeochemistry of the subsurface food web at pH 0-2.5 in Iron Mountain, California, U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, E.I.; Rodgers, T.M.; Alpers, Charles N.; Nordstrom, D. Kirk

    2000-01-01

    Pyrite oxidation in the underground mining environment of Iron Mountain, California, has created the most acidic pH values ever reported in aquatic systems. Sulfate values as high as 120 000 mg l-1 and iron as high as 27 600 mg l-1 have been measured in the mine water, which also carries abundant other dissolved metals including Al, Zn, Cu, Cd, Mn, Sb and Pb. Extreme acidity and high metal concentrations apparently do not preclude the presence of an underground acidophilic food web, which has developed with bacterial biomass at the base and heliozoans as top predators. Slimes, oil-like films, flexible and inflexible stalactites, sediments, water and precipitates were found to have distinctive communities. A variety of filamentous and non-filamentous bacteria grew in slimes in water having pH values < 1.0. Fungal hyphae colonize stalactites dripping pH 1.0 water; they may help to form these drip structures. Motile hypotrichous ciliates and bdelloid rotifers are particularly abundant in slimes having a pH of 1.5. Holdfasts of the iron bacterium Leptothrix discophora attach to biofilms covering pools of standing water having a pH of 2.5 in the mine. The mine is not a closed environment - people, forced air flow and massive flushing during high intensity rainfall provide intermittent contact between the surface and underground habitats, so the mine ecosystem probably is not a restricted one.

  10. Deep-sea ciliates: Recorded diversity and experimental studies on pressure tolerance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenle, Alexandra; Nitsche, Frank; Werner, Jennifer; Arndt, Hartmut

    2017-10-01

    Microbial eukaryotes play an important role in biogeochemical cycles not only in productive surface waters but also in the deep sea. Recent studies based on metagenomics report deep-sea protistan assemblages totally different from continental slopes and shelf waters. To give an overview about the ciliate fauna recorded from the deep sea we summarized the available information on ciliate occurrence in the deep sea. Our literature review revealed that representatives of the major phylogenetic groups of ciliates were recorded from the deep sea (> 1000 m depth): Karyorelictea, Heterotrichea, Spirotrichea (Protohypotrichia, Euplotia, Oligotrichia, Choreotrichia, Hypotrichia), Armophorea (Armophorida), Litostomatea (Haptoria), Conthreep (Phyllopharyngea incl. Cyrtophoria, Chonotrichia, Suctoria; Nassophorea incl. Microthoracida, Synhymeniida, Nassulida; Colpodea incl. Bursariomorphida, Cyrtolophosidida; Prostomatea; Plagiopylea incl. Plagiopylida, Odontostomatida; Oligohymenophorea incl. Peniculia, Scuticociliatia, Hymenostomatia, Apostomatia, Peritrichia, Astomatia). Species occurring in both habitats, deep sea and shallow water, are rarely found to our knowledge to date. This indicates a high deep-sea specific ciliate fauna. Our own studies of similar genotypes (SSU rDNA and cox1 gene) revealed that two small scuticociliate species (Pseudocohnilembus persalinus and Uronema sp.) could be isolated from surface as well as deep waters (2687 m, 5276 m, 5719 m) of the Pacific. The adaptation to deep-sea conditions was investigated by exposing the ciliate isolates directly or stepwise to different hydrostatic pressures ranging from 1 to 550 atm at temperatures of 2 °C and 13 °C. Although the results indicated no general barophilic behavior, all four isolated strains survived the highest established pressure. A better survival at 550 atm could be observed for the lower temperature. Among microbial eukaryotes, ciliates should be considered as a diverse and potentially

  11. Polymorphism of Paramecium pentaurelia (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) strains revealed by rDNA and mtDNA sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przyboś, Ewa; Tarcz, Sebastian; Greczek-Stachura, Magdalena; Surmacz, Marta

    2011-05-01

    Paramecium pentaurelia is one of 15 known sibling species of the Paramecium aurelia complex. It is recognized as a species showing no intra-specific differentiation on the basis of molecular fingerprint analyses, whereas the majority of other species are polymorphic. This study aimed at assessing genetic polymorphism within P. pentaurelia including new strains recently found in Poland (originating from two water bodies, different years, seasons, and clones of one strain) as well as strains collected from distant habitats (USA, Europe, Asia), and strains representing other species of the complex. We compared two DNA fragments: partial sequences (349 bp) of the LSU rDNA and partial sequences (618 bp) of cytochrome B gene. A correlation between the geographical origin of the strains and the genetic characteristics of their genotypes was not observed. Different genotypes were found in Kraków in two types of water bodies (Opatkowice-natural pond; Jordan's Park-artificial pond). Haplotype diversity within a single water body was not recorded. Likewise, seasonal haplotype differences between the strains within the artificial water body, as well as differences between clones originating from one strain, were not detected. The clustering of some strains belonging to different species was observed in the phylogenies. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  12. Quantitative analysis of nucleolar chromatin distribution in the complex convoluted nucleoli of Didinium nasutum (Ciliophora).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonova, Olga G; Karajan, Bella P; Ivlev, Yuri F; Ivanova, Julia L; Skarlato, Sergei O; Popenko, Vladimir I

    2013-01-01

    We have earlier shown that the typical Didinium nasutum nucleolus is a complex convoluted branched domain, comprising a dense fibrillar component located at the periphery of the nucleolus and a granular component located in the central part. Here our main interest was to study quantitatively the spatial distribution of nucleolar chromatin structures in these convoluted nucleoli. There are no "classical" fibrillar centers in D.nasutum nucleoli. The spatial distribution of nucleolar chromatin bodies, which play the role of nucleolar organizers in the macronucleus of D.nasutum, was studied using 3D reconstructions based on serial ultrathin sections. The relative number of nucleolar chromatin bodies was determined in macronuclei of recently fed, starved D.nasutum cells and in resting cysts. This parameter is shown to correlate with the activity of the nucleolus. However, the relative number of nucleolar chromatin bodies in different regions of the same convoluted nucleolus is approximately the same. This finding suggests equal activity in different parts of the nucleolar domain and indicates the existence of some molecular mechanism enabling it to synchronize this activity in D. nasutum nucleoli. Our data show that D. nasutum nucleoli display bipartite structure. All nucleolar chromatin bodies are shown to be located outside of nucleoli, at the periphery of the fibrillar component.

  13. New records of epibiont Ciliates (Ciliophora) from Indian coast with descriptions of six new species

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Chatterjee, T.; Fernandez-Leborans, G.; Ramteke, D.; Ingole, B.S.

    patzcuarensis Villalobos, 1943, lake Pátzcuaro (Michoacán, Mexico) (Mayen-Estrada & Aladro-Lubel, 1998). On Liocarcinus depurator (Linnaeus, 1758), L. vernalis (Risso, 1827), Goneplax rhomboids( Linnaeus, 1758), Dardanus arrosor (Herbst, 1796), Paguristes... oculatus (Fabricius, 1775), Pagurus excavates (Herbst, 1791), and Pagurus prideaux Leach, 1815 from N.W. Mediterranean Sea (Fernandez-Leborans, 2003). Acknowledgement Thanks are due to Dr Marleen De Troch, Marine Biology Section, University of Ghent...

  14. First record of Trichodina heterodentata (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae from channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus cultivated in Brazil

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    ML. Martins

    Full Text Available This study characterises morphologically Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 from channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818 in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Body and gill smears were air-dried at room temperature, impregnated with silver nitrate and/or stained with Giemsa. Ten characteristics were selected to compare the present material with other morphological characterisations of T. heterodentata. Prevalence rate was 100%, mean intensity 89,333.70 (3,125 to 299,100 parasites per host. Trichodina heterodentata was considered medium-sized trichodinid with mean body diameter 59.4 ± 8.5 μm, denticulate ring 38.5 ± 4.5 μm, adhesive disc 60.2 ± 6.7 μm diameter and 24.4 ± 1.6 denticles. In relation to previous reports of T. heterodentata this material resembles in 90% of the analysed characters. This work confirms the biometrical variation that exists in the different populations of T. heterodentata. A list of hosts and comparative measurements of T. heterodentata are presented and the channel catfish is considered a new host.

  15. Morphology, morphogenesis, and phylogeny of an Anteholosticha intermedia (Ciliophora, Urostylida) population from the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lingyun; Wu, Weining; El-Serehy, Hamed A; Hu, Xiaozhong; Clamp, John C

    2018-04-30

    A distinct population of Anteholosticha intermedia was isolated from soil in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, USA, and its morphology, morphogenesis and molecular phylogeny investigated by microscopic observations of live and protargol-prepared specimens and analyses of the sequence of small subunit (SSU) rDNA. Our population closely resembles the populations from Austria and Korea. Members of the genus Anteholosticha have been regarded as ontogenetically diverse, which is confirmed by the present work. The most noteworthy ontogenetic feature of the American population of A. intermedia is that the oral primordium in the proter appears apokinetally at the posterior end of the undulating membranes anlage at the beginning of division and then dedifferentiates midway through morphogenesis. Molecular phylogenetic analyses demonstrate, with high support, that the American population of A. intermedia is clearly distinct from congeners and branches as part of a sister lineage to the Bakuella-Urostyla clade that belongs to the major clade comprising the order Urostylida. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  16. A two-locus molecular characterization of Paramecium calkinsi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przyboś, Ewa; Tarcz, Sebastian; Potekhin, Alexey; Rautian, Maria; Prajer, Małgorzata

    2012-03-01

    Paramecium calkinsi (Ciliophora, Protozoa) is a euryhaline species which was first identified in freshwater habitats, but subsequently several strains were also collected from brackish water. It is characterized by clockwise spiral swimming movement and the general morphology of the "bursaria type." The present paper is the first molecular characterization of P. calkinsi strains recently collected in distant regions in Russia using ITS1-5.8S- ITS2-5'LSU rDNA (1100bp) and COI (620bp) mtDNA sequenced gene fragments. For comparison, our molecular analysis includes P. bursaria, exhibiting a similar "bursaria morphotype" as well as species representing the "aurelia type," i.e., P. caudatum, P. multimicronucleatum, P. jenningsi, and P. schewiakoffi, and some species of the P. aurelia species complex (P. primaurelia, P. tetraurelia, P. sexaurelia, and P. tredecaurelia). We also use data from GenBank concerning other species in the genus Paramecium and Tetrahymena (which used as an outgroup). The division of the genus Paramecium into four subgenera (proposed by Fokin et al. 2004) is clearly presented by the trees. There is a clear separation between P. calkinsi strains collected from different regions (races). Consequently, given the molecular distances between them, it seems that these races may represent different syngens within the species. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  17. Norwegian deep-water coral reefs: cultivation and molecular analysis of planktonic microbial communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Sigmund; Lynch, Michael D J; Ray, Jessica L; Neufeld, Josh D; Hovland, Martin

    2015-10-01

    Deep-sea coral reefs do not receive sunlight and depend on plankton. Little is known about the plankton composition at such reefs, even though they constitute habitats for many invertebrates and fish. We investigated plankton communities from three reefs at 260-350 m depth at hydrocarbon fields off the mid-Norwegian coast using a combination of cultivation and small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene and transcript sequencing. Eight months incubations of a reef water sample with minimal medium, supplemented with carbon dioxide and gaseous alkanes at in situ-like conditions, enabled isolation of mostly Alphaproteobacteria (Sulfitobacter, Loktanella), Gammaproteobacteria (Colwellia) and Flavobacteria (Polaribacter). The relative abundance of isolates in the original sample ranged from ∼ 0.01% to 0.80%. Comparisons of bacterial SSU sequences from filtered plankton of reef and non-reef control samples indicated high abundance and metabolic activity of primarily Alphaproteobacteria (SAR11 Ia), Gammaproteobacteria (ARCTIC96BD-19), but also of Deltaproteobacteria (Nitrospina, SAR324). Eukaryote SSU sequences indicated metabolically active microalgae and animals, including codfish, at the reef sites. The plankton community composition varied between reefs and differed between DNA and RNA assessments. Over 5000 operational taxonomic units were detected, some indicators of reef sites (e.g. Flavobacteria, Cercozoa, Demospongiae) and some more active at reef sites (e.g. Gammaproteobacteria, Ciliophora, Copepoda). © 2014 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Protozoan and metazoan parasites of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus cultured in Brazil

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    Wanderson Pantoja MF

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective. This study describes the parasitic fauna and relative condition factor (Kn in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus L. (Cichlidae from fish farms in the State of Amapá. Material and methods. 123 fish from four fish farms in the state of Amapá, Brazil were necropsied for parasitological and Kn analysis. Results. 64.2% of the examined fish, had the gills infected with Cichlidogyrus tilapiae Paperna, 1960 (Monogenoidea: Dactylogyridae; Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet, 1876 (Protozoa: Ciliophora, Trichodina Ehrenberg, 1830 and Paratrichodina africana Kazubski & El-Tantawy, 1986 (Protozoa: Trichodinidae. The highest prevalence found corresponded to Monogenoidea C. tilapiae while the lowest corresponded to Trichodinidae. However, I. multifiliis was the parasite that presented the greatest intensity and abundance. The differences found in the infection rates of the different fish farms due to causes further discussed. The parasitism did not influence the relative condition factor (Kn of fish. This was the first record of P. africana in Brazil and occurred in the Eastern Amazon. Conclusions. In Brazil, Lamproglena sp. is an emerging parasite in the Southern and Southeastern regions, but this crustacean was not found in the Nile tilapia in the State of Amapá. The parasitic infections in Nile tilapia farmed in Brazil are caused by protozoan, monogenoidea, crustacea and digenea species, and the regional differences on their prevalence and intensity rates are discussed in this study.

  19. The microbial community of Ophrydium versatile colonies: endosymbionts, residents, and tenants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duval, B.; Margulis, L.

    1995-01-01

    Ophrydium versatile is a sessile peritrichous ciliate (Kingdom Protoctista, class Oligohymenophora, order Peritrichida, suborder Sessilina) that forms green, gelatinous colonies. Chlorophyll a and b impart a green color to Ophrydium masses due to 400-500 Chlorella-like endosymbionts in each peritrich. Ophrydium colonies, collected from two bog wetlands (Hawley and Leverett, Massachusetts) were analyzed for their gel inhabitants. Other protists include ciliates, mastigotes, euglenids, chlorophytes, and heliozoa. Routine constituents include from 50-100,000 Nitzschia per ml of gel and at least four other diatom genera (Navicula, Pinnularia, Gyrosigma, Cymbella) that may participate in synthesis of the gel matrix. Among the prokaryotes are filamentous and coccoid cyanobacteria, large rod-shaped bacteria, at least three types of spirochetes and one unidentified Saprospira-like organism. Endosymbiotic methanogenic bacteria, observed using fluorescence microscopy, were present in unidentified hypotrichous ciliates. Animals found inside the gel include rotifers, nematodes, and occasional copepods. The latter were observed in the water reservoir of larger Ophrydium masses. From 30-46% of incident visible radiation could be attenuated by Ophrydium green jelly masses in laboratory observations. Protargol staining was used to visualize the elongate macronuclei and small micronucleus of O. versatile zooids and symbiotic algal nuclei. Electron microscopic analysis of the wall of the Chlorella-like symbiont suggests that although the Ophrydium zooids from British Columbia harbor Chlorella vulgaris, those from Hawley Bog contain Graesiella sp. The growth habit in the photic zone and loose level of individuation of macroscopic Ophrydium masses are interpretable as extant analogs of certain Ediacaran biota: colonial protists in the Vendian fossil record.

  20. Description of Epistylis riograndensis n.sp. (Ciliophora: Peritrichia) found in an artificial lake in Southern Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Utz, Laura R P; Farias, Ana Carolina Silva Rodrigues; Freitas, Eduarda Correa; de Araújo, Gabriella Oliveira

    2014-10-03

    Epistylis riograndensis n. sp., a freshwater peritrich hosting symbiotic algae in its cytoplasm, was collected from an artificial lake, in a Botanical garden in Southern Brazil. Its detailed morphology was investigated using live and silver-stained specimens. The colonial sessile E. riograndensis has elongate zooids measuring, on average, 162 μm in length and 45 μm in width. A single contractile vacuole located near the infundibulum and a C-shaped macronucleus located transversely in the adoral half of the cell were also observed. The oral infraciliature revealed in silver-stained specimens was typical of peritrich ciliates. Three infundibular polykineties consisting of 3 rows of kinetosomes were observed. Molecular analyses of 18s rDNA placed E. riograndensis among other Epistylis species in the Order Vorticellida.

  1. Genetic differentiation of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase C subunit I gene in genus Paramecium (Protista, Ciliophora).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yan; Gentekaki, Eleni; Yi, Zhenzhen; Lin, Xiaofeng

    2013-01-01

    The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is being used increasingly for evaluating inter- and intra-specific genetic diversity of ciliated protists. However, very few studies focus on assessing genetic divergence of the COI gene within individuals and how its presence might affect species identification and population structure analyses. We evaluated the genetic variation of the COI gene in five Paramecium species for a total of 147 clones derived from 21 individuals and 7 populations. We identified a total of 90 haplotypes with several individuals carrying more than one haplotype. Parsimony network and phylogenetic tree analyses revealed that intra-individual diversity had no effect in species identification and only a minor effect on population structure. Our results suggest that the COI gene is a suitable marker for resolving inter- and intra-specific relationships of Paramecium spp.

  2. Genetic differentiation of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase C subunit I gene in genus Paramecium (Protista, Ciliophora.

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    Yan Zhao

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI gene is being used increasingly for evaluating inter- and intra-specific genetic diversity of ciliated protists. However, very few studies focus on assessing genetic divergence of the COI gene within individuals and how its presence might affect species identification and population structure analyses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We evaluated the genetic variation of the COI gene in five Paramecium species for a total of 147 clones derived from 21 individuals and 7 populations. We identified a total of 90 haplotypes with several individuals carrying more than one haplotype. Parsimony network and phylogenetic tree analyses revealed that intra-individual diversity had no effect in species identification and only a minor effect on population structure. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the COI gene is a suitable marker for resolving inter- and intra-specific relationships of Paramecium spp.

  3. Trichodina colisae (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae: new parasite records for two freshwater fish species farmed in Brazil Trichodina colisae (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae: novo registro de parasito para duas espécies de peixes de água doce cultivadas no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Tomas Jerônimo

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Family Trichodinidae comprises ciliate protozoa distributed worldwide; they are considered some of the main parasitological agents infecting cultivated fish. However, the trichodinidae parasitizing important fish species cultured in Brazil are unknown, and more taxonomic studies on this group of parasites are required. This research morphologically characterizes Trichodina colisae Asmat & Sultana, (2005 of pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus and patinga hybrid (P. mesopotamicus × P. brachypomus cultivated in the central and southeast regions of the country. Fresh assemblies were made from mucus scraped from the skin, fins and gills, fixed with methanol and, subsequently, impregnated with silver nitrate and stained with Giemsa for assessment under light microscopy. This research reports not only the second occurrence of T. colisae in the world, but also its first occurrence in South America.Tricodinídeos são protozoários ciliados móveis com ampla distribuição mundial; são considerados um dos agentes parasitários que mais acometem peixes cultivados. No Brasil, a maioria dos tricodinídeos que parasitam importantes espécies de peixes cultivados são desconhecidos, o que requer mais estudos taxonômicos com esse grupo de parasitos. Este estudo caracteriza morfologicamente Trichodina colisae Asmat & Sultana, 2005 de pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus e do híbrido patinga (P. mesopotamicus × P. brachypomus cultivados, respectivamente, no Centro-Oeste e Sudeste do Brasil. Foram feitas montagens a fresco do raspado de muco da pele, nadadeiras e brânquias, fixados com metanol e, posteriormente, impregnados com nitrato de prata e coradas com Giemsa para avaliação em microscopia óptica. O presente estudo relata não só a segunda ocorrência de T. colisae no mundo, mas também a primeira ocorrência na América do Sul.

  4. 'Candidatus Megaira polyxenophila' gen. nov., sp. nov.: considerations on evolutionary history, host range and shift of early divergent rickettsiae.

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    Martina Schrallhammer

    Full Text Available "Neglected Rickettsiaceae" (i.e. those harboured by non-hematophagous eukaryotic hosts display greater phylogenetic variability and more widespread dispersal than pathogenic ones; yet, the knowledge about their actual host range and host shift mechanism is scarce. The present work reports the characterization following the full-cycle rRNA approach (SSU rRNA sequence, specific in situ hybridization, and ultrastructure of a novel rickettsial bacterium, herewith proposed as 'Candidatus Megaira polyxenophila' gen. nov., sp. nov. We found it in association with four different free-living ciliates (Diophrys oligothrix, Euplotes octocarinatus, Paramecium caudatum, and Spirostomum sp., all belonging to Alveolata, Ciliophora; furthermore it was recently observed as intracellular occurring in Carteria cerasiformis and Pleodorina japonica (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated the belonging of the candidate new genus to the family Rickettsiaceae (Alphaproteobacteria, Rickettsiales as a sister group of the genus Rickettsia. In situ observations revealed the ability of the candidate new species to colonize either nuclear or cytoplasmic compartments, depending on the host organism. The presence of the same bacterial species within different, evolutionary distant, hosts indicates that 'Candidatus Megaira polyxenophila' recently underwent several distinct host shifts, thus suggesting the existence of horizontal transmission pathways. We consider these findings as indicative of an unexpected spread of rickettsial infections in aquatic communities, possibly by means of trophic interactions, and hence propose a new interpretation of the origin and phylogenetic diversification of rickettsial bacteria.

  5. Determining Microeukaryotic Plankton Community around Xiamen Island, Southeast China, Using Illumina MiSeq and PCR-DGGE Techniques.

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    Lingyu Yu

    Full Text Available Microeukaryotic plankton are important components of aquatic environments and play key roles in marine microbial food webs; however, little is known about their genetic diversity in subtropical offshore areas. Here we examined the community composition and genetic diversity of the microeukaryotic plankton in Xiamen offshore water by PCR-DGGE (polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, clone-based sequencing and Illumina based sequencing. The Illumina MiSeq sequencing revealed a much (approximately two orders of magnitude higher species richness of the microeukaryotic community than DGGE, but there were no significant difference in species richness and diversity among the northern, eastern, southern or western stations based on both methods. In this study, Copepoda, Ciliophora, Chlorophyta, Dinophyceae, Cryptophyta and Bacillariophyta (diatoms were the dominant groups even though diatoms were not detected by DGGE. Our Illumina based results indicated that two northern communities (sites N2 and N3 were significantly different from others in having more protozoa and fewer diatoms. Redundancy analysis (RDA showed that both temperature and salinity were the significant environmental factors influencing dominant species communities, whereas the full microeukaryotic community appeared to be affected by a complex of environmental factors. Our results suggested that extensive sampling combined with more deep sequencing are needed to obtain the complete diversity of the microeukaryotic community, and different diversity patterns for both abundant and rare taxa may be important in evaluating the marine ecosystem health.

  6. The D1-D2 region of the large subunit ribosomal DNA as barcode for ciliates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoeck, T; Przybos, E; Dunthorn, M

    2014-05-01

    Ciliates are a major evolutionary lineage within the alveolates, which are distributed in nearly all habitats on our planet and are an essential component for ecosystem function, processes and stability. Accurate identification of these unicellular eukaryotes through, for example, microscopy or mating type reactions is reserved to few specialists. To satisfy the demand for a DNA barcode for ciliates, which meets the standard criteria for DNA barcodes defined by the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL), we here evaluated the D1-D2 region of the ribosomal DNA large subunit (LSU-rDNA). Primer universality for the phylum Ciliophora was tested in silico with available database sequences as well as in the laboratory with 73 ciliate species, which represented nine of 12 ciliate classes. Primers tested in this study were successful for all tested classes. To test the ability of the D1-D2 region to resolve conspecific and congeneric sequence divergence, 63 Paramecium strains were sampled from 24 mating species. The average conspecific D1-D2 variation was 0.18%, whereas congeneric sequence divergence averaged 4.83%. In pairwise genetic distance analyses, we identified a D1-D2 sequence divergence of DNA amplification of single cells and voucher deposition. In conclusion, the presented data pinpoint the D1-D2 region as an excellent candidate for an official CBOL barcode for ciliated protists. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Risk assessment for parasites in cultures of Diplodus puntazzo (Sparidae) in the Western Mediterranean: prospects of cross infection with Sparus aurata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-García, Neus; Raga, Juan Antonio; Montero, Francisco E

    2014-08-29

    The sharpsnout seabream Diplodus puntazzo is of interest in Mediterranean fish farming. Disease is an important problem because parasites can spread quickly in culture conditions and fish often develop high parasite burdens. Here we assess the risk that documented parasites pose to the sustainability of D. puntazzo farming. This study specifically considers metazoan and protist parasites recorded from wild and farmed D. puntazzo in scientific literature. Risk assessment studies involve the identification, characterization and qualitative quantification of the risk in question (parasitoses in this case) and the probability of establishment. We considered the parasite species which may be difficult to manage as a priority for research into potential management strategies. Those parasites which could be transmitted from cultures of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) were also included in this study. Four groups of parasites represented a risk to D. puntazzo farming, ranging from moderate to high: Ciliophora, Myxozoa, Monogenea and Copepoda. Three parasite species were considered high risk to D. puntazzo cultures: Amyloodinium sp., Cryptocaryon sp. and Enteromyxum leei. These species were responsible for high mortalities in cultures of these and other fish species. In addition Sparicotyle chrysophrii, Caligus ligusticus and Gnathia vorax entail a moderate risk to D. puntazzo Mediterranean farms. No important episodes have been related to caligids and isopods in Mediterranean sparids, nevertheless they should be properly managed to prevent future problems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Characteristics of microbial community involved in early biofilms formation under the influence of wastewater treatment plant effluent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Yuke; Li, Jie; Lu, Junling; Xiao, Lin; Yang, Liuyan

    2018-04-01

    Effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) containing microorganisms and residual nutrients can influence the biofilm formation. Although the process and mechanism of bacterial biofilm formation have been well characterized, little is known about the characteristics and interaction of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes in the early colonization, especially under the influence of WWTP effluent. The aim of this study was to characterize the important bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic species in the early stage of biofilm formation downstream of the WWTP outlet. Water and biofilm samples were collected 24 and 48hr after the deposition of bio-cords in the stream. Illumina Miseq sequencing of the 16S and 18S rDNA showed that, among the three domains, the bacterial biofilm community had the largest alpha and beta diversity. The early bacterial colonizers appeared to be "biofilm-specific", with only a few dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) shared between the biofilm and the ambient water environment. Alpha-proteobacteria and Ciliophora tended to dominate the bacterial and eukaryotic communities, respectively, of the early biofilm already at 24hr, whereas archaea played only a minor role during the early stage of colonization. The network analysis showed that the three domains of microbial community connected highly during the early colonization and it might be a characteristic of the microbial communities in the biofilm formation process where co-occurrence relationships could drive coexistence and diversity maintenance within the microbial communities. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Feeding behavior of Frontonia leucas (Ehrenberg (Protozoa, Ciliophora, Hymenostomatida under different environmental conditions in a lotic system Comportamento alimentar de Frontonia leucas (Ehrenberg (Protozoa, Ciliophora, Hymenostomatida sob diferentes condições ambientais em um sistema lótico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Júnio P. Dias

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to record and describe the morphological changes and the ingestion mechanisms of Frontonia leucas (Ehrenberg, 1833 according to the food type and to relate the food ingested with the different environmental conditions in a lotic system, namely São Pedro stream, located in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. We sampled three points on a monthly basis from August 2002 to June 2003, each of which receiving different levels of untreated sewage. We prepared culture media for the ciliate specimens containing filtered water from each point and the types of food observed inside F. leucas (cyanobacteria, diatoms, desmids and testate amoebas. We observed the ingestion mechanisms of F. leucas in vivo, under a phase contrast optical microscope, using instantaneous sampling and sequence sampling as behavior observation methods, noting the following parameters: dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, conductivity and water temperature. We noted the F. leucas ciliates ingesting diatoms and desmids at collection point 1 and filamentous cyanobacteria, testate amoebas (Arcella and Centropyxis and rotifers at points 2 and 3. The present work records for the first time the ingestion of testate amoebas of the genus Centropyxis by F. leucas. We noted five ingestion mechanisms by F. leucas while feeding on cyanobacteria and testate amoebas of the genus Centropyxis, three of these related to the ciliary action and two involving physical changes in the cytoplasm. For ingestion of diatoms, desmid (Closterium and Arcella, the mechanisms involving ciliary action alone were sufficient for ingestion, since these preys are smaller than the ciliate under study. The autecological data registered for F. leucas were 1.98-8.01 mg l-1 O2, pH 6.9-8.73, 58-390 µS/cm and 19.5-26.2ºC, confirming its ample ecological valence.O objetivo do presente trabalho foi registrar e descrever as alterações morfológicas e os mecanismos de ingestão em Frontonia leucas (Ehrenberg, 1833, conforme o tipo de alimento, e relacionar o alimento ingerido às diferentes condições ambientais de um sistema lótico, o córrego São Pedro, localizado no Município de Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Foram amostrados mensalmente, de agosto de 2002 a junho de 2003, três pontos que recebem diferentes níveis de lançamento de esgoto doméstico in natura. Foram preparados meios de cultura dos espécimes do ciliado em estudo, contendo água filtrada de cada ponto e os tipos de alimento observados no interior de F. leucas (cianobactérias, diatomáceas, desmídeas e tecamebas. Os mecanismos de ingestão de F. leucas foram observados in vivo, sob microscópio óptico de contraste de fase, utilizando-se como métodos de observação do comportamento a amostragem instantânea e a amostragem de seqüência. Registraram-se os seguintes parâmetros: teor de oxigênio dissolvido, pH, condutividade elétrica e temperatura da água. Os ciliados da espécie F. leucas foram observados ingerindo diatomáceas e desmídeas no ponto 1 de coleta e cianobactérias oscilatórias, tecamebas (Arcella e Centropyxis e rotíferos nos pontos 2 e 3. O presente trabalho registra pela primeira vez a ingestão de tecamebas do gênero Centropyxis por F. leucas. Foram observados cinco mecanismos de ingestão realizados por F. leucas ao se alimentarem de cianobactérias e de tecamebas do gênero Centropyxis, sendo três relacionados com a ação ciliar e dois envolvendo mudanças físicas no citoplasma. Para a ingestão de diatomáceas, desmídeas e tecamebas do gênero Arcella somente os mecanismos que envolvem a ação ciliar foram suficientes para a ingestão, uma vez que estes alimentos são menores que o ciliado em estudo. Os dados de auto-ecologia registrados para F. leucas foram 1,98-8,01 mg l-1 O2, pH 6,9-8,73, 58-390 µS/cm e 19,5-26,2ºC, confirmando sua ampla valência ecológica.

  10. Multiple lines of evidence shed light on the occurrence of paramecium (ciliophora, oligohymenophorea) in bromeliad tank water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buosi, Paulo R B; Cabral, Adalgisa F; Simão, Taiz L L; Utz, Laura R P; Velho, Luiz F M

    2014-01-01

    Phytotelmata are vegetal structures that hold water from the rain, and organic matter from the forest and the soil, resulting in small, compartmentalized bodies of water, which provide an essential environment for the establishment and development of many organisms. These microenvironments generally harbor endemic species, but many organisms that are found in lakes and rivers, are also present. Here, we report, for the first time, the occurrence of the ciliate genus Paramecium in the tank of the bromeliad species Aechmaea distichantha. The identification of the Paramecium species was performed based on live observations, protargol impregnation, scanning electronic microscopy, and sequencing of the 18s rRNA. The absence of Paramecium from bromeliad tank water was highlighted in several earlier investigations, and may be due to the fact that this species is unable to make cysts. The occurrence of Paramecium multimicronucleatum in our samples may be explained by the proximity between the bromeliads and the river, a potential source of the species. Further, we also believe that the counting methodology used in our study provides a more accurate analysis of the species diversity, since we investigated all samples within a maximum period of 6 h after sampling, allowing minimum loss of specimens. © 2013 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2013 International Society of Protistologists.

  11. Beyond the "Code": A Guide to the Description and Documentation of Biodiversity in Ciliated Protists (Alveolata, Ciliophora).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Alan; Patterson, David J; Dunthorn, Micah; Clamp, John C; Achilles-Day, Undine E M; Aescht, Erna; Al-Farraj, Saleh A; Al-Quraishy, Saleh; Al-Rasheid, Khaled; Carr, Martin; Day, John G; Dellinger, Marc; El-Serehy, Hamed A; Fan, Yangbo; Gao, Feng; Gao, Shan; Gong, Jun; Gupta, Renu; Hu, Xiaozhong; Kamra, Komal; Langlois, Gaytha; Lin, Xiaofeng; Lipscomb, Diana; Lobban, Christopher S; Luporini, Pierangelo; Lynn, Denis H; Ma, Honggang; Macek, Miroslav; Mackenzie-Dodds, Jacqueline; Makhija, Seema; Mansergh, Robert I; Martín-Cereceda, Mercedes; McMiller, Nettie; Montagnes, David J S; Nikolaeva, Svetlana; Ong'ondo, Geoffrey Odhiambo; Pérez-Uz, Blanca; Purushothaman, Jasmine; Quintela-Alonso, Pablo; Rotterová, Johana; Santoferrara, Luciana; Shao, Chen; Shen, Zhuo; Shi, Xinlu; Song, Weibo; Stoeck, Thorsten; La Terza, Antonietta; Vallesi, Adriana; Wang, Mei; Weisse, Thomas; Wiackowski, Krzysztof; Wu, Lei; Xu, Kuidong; Yi, Zhenzhen; Zufall, Rebecca; Agatha, Sabine

    2017-07-01

    Recent advances in molecular technology have revolutionized research on all aspects of the biology of organisms, including ciliates, and created unprecedented opportunities for pursuing a more integrative approach to investigations of biodiversity. However, this goal is complicated by large gaps and inconsistencies that still exist in the foundation of basic information about biodiversity of ciliates. The present paper reviews issues relating to the taxonomy of ciliates and presents specific recommendations for best practice in the observation and documentation of their biodiversity. This effort stems from a workshop that explored ways to implement six Grand Challenges proposed by the International Research Coordination Network for Biodiversity of Ciliates (IRCN-BC). As part of its commitment to strengthening the knowledge base that supports research on biodiversity of ciliates, the IRCN-BC proposes to populate The Ciliate Guide, an online database, with biodiversity-related data and metadata to create a resource that will facilitate accurate taxonomic identifications and promote sharing of data. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society of Protistologists.

  12. Ophryoglena hemophaga n. sp. (Ciliophora: Ophryoglenidae): a parasite of the digestive gland of zebra mussels Dreissena polymorpha.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molloy, Daniel P; Lynn, Denis H; Giamberini, Laure

    2005-07-18

    Ophryoglena hemophaga n. sp. is described from a freshwater Dreissena polymorpha population in the Rhine delta of the Netherlands. This is the first ophryoglenine species (order Hymenostomatida, suborder Ophryoglenina) recorded as a molluscan parasite. As is typical of ciliates in the suborder Ophryoglenina, O. hemophaga exhibits a polymorphic life history with cystment and reproduction by palintomy. Trophonts were observed within digestive gland lumina, and zebra mussel hemocytes were present in some of their digestive vacuoles. The presence of a single, longitudinal tract of multiple contractile vacuoles represents its most unique feature and distinguishes it from all other described Ophryoglena spp. The number of somatic kineties of O. hemophaga (range 100 to 124) is also distinguishing as it is one of the lowest for [corrected] an Ophryoglena sp. Other characteristics of this species include: ovoid to elongate trophonts 96 to 288 microm in length, with an elongate macronucleus 41 to 65 microm in length; tomonts 50 to 150 microm in diameter producing a clear mucous cyst envelope, whose thickness is approximately half of the tomont diameter; elongated theronts 96 to 131 microm in length which emerge after 1 to 3 cell divisions taking 36 to 48 h at 20 +/- 3 degrees C. Protomonts and theronts are, respectively, negatively and positively phototactic--characteristics that likely aid in maintenance of infection in zebra mussel populations.

  13. Report of epibiont Thecacineta calix (Ciliophora: Suctorea) on deep sea Desmodora (Nematoda) from the Andaman Sea, Indian Ocean

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Ingole, B.S.; Singh, R.; Sautya, S.; Dovgal, I.; Chatterjee, T.

    samples taken from the upper slope of the Northern Seamount located off Nicobar Island, 9859 0 31.52 00 N93857 0 15.48 00 E, from a water depth of 1301 m. Upon collection, the sponges were carefully separated from the sediment and immediately preserved... with absolute alcohol. In the laboratory, the sponge samples were washed carefully and the entire faunal community associated with sponge spicules were sorted out carefully and identified to the lowest possible taxa. All the nematodes were separated and fixed...

  14. Variation in ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA sequences demonstrates the existence of intraspecific groups in Paramecium multimicronucleatum (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarcz, Sebastian; Potekhin, Alexey; Rautian, Maria; Przyboś, Ewa

    2012-05-01

    This is the first phylogenetic study of the intraspecific variability within Paramecium multimicronucleatum with the application of two-loci analysis (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-5'LSU rDNA and COI mtDNA) carried out on numerous strains originated from different continents. The species has been shown to have a complex structure of several sibling species within taxonomic species. Our analysis revealed the existence of 10 haplotypes for the rDNA fragment and 15 haplotypes for the COI fragment in the studied material. The mean distance for all of the studied P. multimicronucleatum sequence pairs was p=0.025/0.082 (rDNA/COI). Despite the greater variation of the COI fragment, the COI-derived tree topology is similar to the tree topology constructed on the basis of the rDNA fragment. P. multimicronucleatum strains are divided into three main clades. The tree based on COI fragment analysis presents a greater resolution of the studied P. multimicronucleatum strains. Our results indicate that the strains of P. multimicronucleatum that appear in different clades on the trees could belong to different syngens. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Intraspecific differentiation of Paramecium novaurelia strains (Ciliophora, Protozoa) inferred from phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal and mitochondrial DNA variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarcz, Sebastian

    2013-01-01

    Paramecium novaurelia Beale and Schneller, 1954, was first found in Scotland and is known to occur mainly in Europe, where it is the most common species of the P. aurelia complex. In recent years, two non-European localities have been described: Turkey and the United States of America. This article presents the analysis of intraspecific variability among 25 strains of P. novaurelia with the application of ribosomal and mitochondrial loci (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, 5' large subunit rDNA (5'LSU rDNA) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) mtDNA). The mean distance observed for all of the studied P. novaurelia sequence pairs was p=0.008/0.016/0.092 (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2/5'LSU rDNA/COI). Phylogenetic trees (NJ/MP/BI) based on a comparison of all of the analysed sequences show that the studied strains of P. novaurelia form a distinct clade, separate from the P. caudatum outgroup, and are divided into two clusters (A and B) and two branches (C and D). The occurrence of substantial genetic differentiation within P. novaurelia, confirmed by the analysed DNA fragments, indicates a rapid evolution of particular species within the Paramecium genus. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  16. New contribution to the species-rich genus Euplotes: Morphology, ontogeny and systematic position of two species (Ciliophora; Euplotia).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Ying; Fan, Yangbo; Luo, Xiaotian; El-Serehy, Hamed A; Bourland, William; Chen, Xiangrui

    2018-06-01

    The morphology, ontogeny and phylogeny of two Euplotes species, E. estuarinus sp. nov. and a population of E. platystoma Dragesco and Dragesco-Kernéis, 1986, both collected from tropical brackish waters in south China, were investigated based on living morphology, ciliary pattern and molecular data. Euplotes estuarinus sp. nov. is small (about 60 × 40 μm in vivo), has a dargyrome of the double-eurystomus type, and the transverse cirri are arranged in two groups, with two left and three right ones. The original description of the poorly known species, E. platystoma, is brief, and the species was never investigated using live observation and molecular methods Hence, we provided a detailed redescription. Some stages of their morphogenesis were observed which proceed in the same pattern as in their congeners. The new species E. estuarinus sp. nov. clusters with E. curdsi, differing only by 1 bp in their SSU rRNA gene sequences, which is likely due to the recent speciation event and the limited resolution of the SSU rRNA gene at species level in this group as the two species are clearly morphologically distinct. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  17. Ecological traits of the algae-bearing Tetrahymena utriculariae (Ciliophora) from traps of the aquatic carnivorous plant Utricularia reflexa

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šimek, Karel; Pitsch, G.; Salcher, Michaela M.; Sirová, Dagmara; Shabarova, Tatiana; Adamec, Lubomír; Posch, T.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 64, č. 3 (2017), s. 336-348 ISSN 1066-5234 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA13-00243S Institutional support: RVO:60077344 ; RVO:67985939 Keywords : aquatic Utricularia * bacterial turnover rate * ciliate bacterivory and mixotrophy * microbial interactions Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology OBOR OECD: Ecology; Microbiology (BU-J) Impact factor: 2.692, year: 2016

  18. A new species of Trichodina Ehrenberg, 1830 (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae) infecting farmed Clarias gariepinus (Burchell) (Siluriformes: Clariidae) in Cuba.

    Science.gov (United States)

    León, Fernando Lucas Prats; Pérez, Mercedes Martínez

    2017-11-01

    A new species of Trichodina Ehrenberg, 1830 collected from the skin and fins of farmed North African catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell) fingerlings, is described. The new species can be distinguished from other trichodinids by the characteristics of the adhesive disc, especially by the great number of denticles. Trichodina merciae n. sp. is morphologically similar to T. renicola (Mueller, 1931) and T. marplatensis Martorelli, Marcotegui & Alda, 2008, in the number of denticles, but differs in the morphometric data, denticle morphology, environment and location. Trichodina merciae n. sp. has broad sickle-shaped blades and thin, straight rays, while T. marplatensis has broad club-shaped blades and wide S-shaped rays. Besides, denticle length, blade length, ray length, width of central part and denticle span of the new species are greater than T. marplatensis. However, the diameter of denticle ring and the diameter of the central area in T. marplatensis is larger than the ones in T. merciae n. sp. This is the first record of freshwater ectoparasite trichodinid with an average number of denticles greater than 50.

  19. Variaciones de la infracomunidad parásita durante la ontogenia de Chromis cyanea(Perciformes: Pomacentridae en la costa norte de La Habana, Cuba

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramón Alexis Fernández Osorio

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Chromis cyaneaes una de las especies marinas más comunes y abundantes de los arrecifes cubanos. En este estudio se cuantifica la infracomunidad de parásitos durante el desarrollo ontogenético de Chromis cyanea(Pisces: Pomacentridae de la costa norte de La Habana, Cuba. Los objetivos son probar que las especies núcleo son responsables de la estructura en la infracomunidad y aparecen antes que las especies raras y estocásticas. Determinar si existe relación entre los descriptores ecológicos de la infraco-munidad parásita con la longitud total. Se capturaron 278 ejemplares de C. cyaneadurante la estación de seca (Abril del 2010. Se analizó un rango de tallas de 1.5 a 11.5 cm de largo total y se incluyeron ejemplares juveniles y adultos. Se recolectaron 2 861 especímenes parásitos pertenecientes a 20 taxa: Crustacea (5, Nematoda (5, Trematoda (4, Cestoda (2, Monogenea (2, Turbellaria (1 y Ciliophora (1. Los taxa Tetraphyllidea y Anilocra chromisconstituyen el núcleo de la infracomunidad parásita. La secuencia de aparición y la persistencia de estos taxa durante el desarrollo ontogenético apoyan la hipótesis de las especies núcleo. Los cambios en la infracomunidad, a partir de la talla de 6 cm, podrían ser el resultado de un efecto acumulativo unido a cambios en la dieta que provocan la ingestión de nuevos estadíos infectivos. Se concluye que el desarrollo ontogenético de C. cyaneaconstituye una variable importante en la formación de la infracomunidad parásita.

  20. Morphology and Phylogeny of the Soil Ciliate Metopus yantaiensis n. sp. (Ciliophora, Metopida), with Identification of the Intracellular Bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omar, Atef; Zhang, Qianqian; Zou, Songbao; Gong, Jun

    2017-11-01

    The morphology and infraciliature of a new ciliate, Metopus yantaiensis n. sp., discovered in coastal soil of northern China, were investigated. It is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following features: nuclear apparatus situated in the preoral dome; 18-21 somatic ciliary rows, of which three extend onto the preoral dome (dome kineties); three to five distinctly elongated caudal cilia, and 21-29 adoral polykinetids. The 18S rRNA genes of this new species and two congeners, Metopus contortus and Metopus hasei, were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. The new species is more closely related to M. hasei and the clevelandellids than to other congeners; both the genus Metopus and the order Metopida are not monophyletic. In addition, the digestion-resistant bacteria in the cytoplasm of M. yantaiensis were identified, using a 16S rRNA gene clone library, sequencing, and fluorescence in situ hybridization. The detected intracellular bacteria are affiliated with Sphingomonadales, Rhizobiales, Rickettsiales (Alphaproteobacteria), Pseudomonas (Gammaproteobacteria), Rhodocyclales (Betaproteobacteria), Clostridiales (Firmicutes), and Flavobacteriales (Bacteroidetes). © 2017 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2017 International Society of Protistologists.

  1. Description of two new Drepanomonas taxa and an account on features defining species in Drepanomonas Fresenius, 1858 (Ciliophora, Microthoracida).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omar, Atef; Foissner, Wilhelm

    2013-08-01

    Using standard methods, we describe two new Drepanomonas taxa: Drepanomonas hymenofera (Horváth 1956) nov. comb., which is composed of two (biogeographical?) subspecies, viz., D. hymenofera venezuelensis nov. subspec. and D. hymenofera hymenofera (Horváth 1956), was discovered in soil from Venezuela and Iceland, respectively. Both are comparatively large-sized (50×20μm and 40×18 μm in vivo), differing in the cortex pattern and the structure of kineties 3 and 4. We agree with Corliss (1979) and Chardez (1990) that the genus Pseudocristigera, which was established by Horváth (1956) for Drepanomonas hymenofera, is a junior synonym of Drepanomonas. Drepanomonas vasta nov. spec., which was discovered in the mud of a tree hole in Austria, is a middle-sized species (35×18 μm) with thick body, wide left side ridges, a single anterior dikinetid in kinety 4, and an average of 99 basal bodies; it is unique in having the dorsal side much more flattened than the ventral side, thus being cuneate in transverse view. Ontogenetic data show that the ciliary pattern of Drepanomonas is homologous to that of Leptopharynx, specifically, the structure and origin of the postoral complex. Main features for distinguishing Drepanomonas species are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  2. Molecular phylogeny and comparative morphology indicate that odontostomatids (Alveolata, Ciliophora) form a distinct class-level taxon related to Armophorea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Noemi M; Vizzoni, Vinicius F; Borges, Bárbara do N; A G Soares, Carlos; Silva-Neto, Inácio D da; S Paiva, Thiago da

    2018-04-18

    The odontostomatids are among the least studied ciliates, possibly due to their small sizes, restriction to anaerobic environments and difficulty in culturing. Consequently, their phylogenetic affinities to other ciliate taxa are still poorly understood. In the present study, we analyzed newly obtained ribosomal gene sequences of the odontostomatids Discomorphella pedroeneasi and Saprodinium dentatum, together with sequences from the literature, including Epalxella antiquorum and a large assemblage of ciliate sequences representing the major recognized classes. The results show that D. pedroeneasi and S. dentatum form a deep-diverging branch related to metopid and clevelandellid armophoreans, corroborating the old literature. However E. antiquorum clustered with the morphologically discrepant plagiopylids, indicating that either the complex odontostomatid body architecture evolved convergently, or the positioning of E. antiquorum as a plagiopylid is artifactual. A new ciliate class, Odontostomatea n. cl., is proposed based on molecular analyses and comparative morphology of odontostomatids with related taxa. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. First record of Chilodonella piscicola (Ciliophora: Chilodonellidae) from two endangered fishes, Schizothorax o'connori and Oxygymnocypris stewartii in Tibet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Qiong; Guo, Qingxiang; Zhai, Yanhua; Wang, Zhe; Gu, Zemao

    2015-08-01

    Schizothorax o'connori and Oxygymnocypris stewartii are two endangered endemic Tibetan fishes that thrive in the Lhasa River at an average altitude over 4000 m. During artificial reproduction of endemic Tibetan fishes, the juvenile fish of S. o'connori and O. stewartii experienced mass mortality event. The causative agent is diagnosed to be a ciliate parasite, Chilodonella piscicola (syn. C. cyprini), which is common in various fishes. Here, we supplemented its description based on the morphological and molecular data. The body of C. piscicola is oval, 30-60 × 25-40 μm in vivo. Cyrtos is hook-like, composed of 9-10 toothed nematodesmal rods. Somatic kineties usually contain seven right kineties and nine left kineties. Two parallel circumoral kineties revolve round the cyrtos, and one preoral kinety extends to the anterior end of the fourth left-most kinety. Terminal fragment kinety is linear and on the top left of dorsal side. Sequence alignments revealed that the present SSU rDNA and ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequences are both most similar to the sequences of C. uncinata with the similarities of 98.2 and 99.5%. The phylogenetic analyses showed that C. piscicola is sister to other Chilodonella species, whereas C. cyprini (FJ873805) cluster with Tetrahymena species. Molecular analysis shows that the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequence of C. cyprini in GenBank is unreliable. Our study extended the host range of C. piscicola and supplemented and revised the molecular data. Besides, as far as we know, this is the first record of C. piscicola in Tibetan plateau.

  4. ASPECTOS ECOLÓGICOS DA COMUNIDADE DE PARASITOS EMDUAS ESPÉCIES DE LORICARIIDAE DA BACIA IGARAPÉ FORTALEZA, ESTADO DO AMAPÁ, BRASIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raissa Alves Gonçalves

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Os parasitos têm sido reconhecidos como importantes componentes dos ecossistemas. Esses usam o ambiente para a sua transmissão e podem infectar diversas espécies de peixe no ecossistema. O presente estudo investigou a ecologia parasitária em Squaliforma emarginata e Harttia duriventris da bacia Igarapé Fortaleza, região de Macapá, estado do Amapá, Norte do Brasil. Para ambos os peixes houve similar nível de infecção por Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ciliophora, parasito dominante e com dispersão agregada. Spironucleus sp. (Hexamitidae ocorreu somente nas brânquias de H. duriventris, enquanto Trinigyrus mourei (Monogenoidea e Procamallanus inopinatus (Camallanidae foram encontrados somente S. emarginata. O índice de Brillouin, riqueza de espécies de parasitos, uniformidade e dominância de Berger-Parker foram maiores em S. emarginata, mas paraambos os hospedeiros a comunidade parasitária foi caracterizada por baixa diversidade e baixa uniformidade. Em H. duriventris e S. emarginata, o baixo parasitismo não afetou o fator de condição relativo (Kn dos hospedeiros. Em S. emarginata houve correlação positiva da abundância de I. multifiliis com o comprimento, peso e Kn dos hospedeiros,enquanto que em H. druventris somente o peso e Kn mostram correlação com a abundância desse ciliado. Este foi o primeiro registro de I. multifiliis, Spironucleus sp. e P.inopinatus para H. duriventris e S. emarginata. Palavras-chave: Amazônia, Diversidade, Parasitos, Peixes de água doce, Metazoários. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18561/2179-5746/biotaamazonia.v4n1p15-21

  5. Water and Soil Analyses of Balongis Fish Cage and Oster (Talaba Farms in Concepcion River, Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay Province, Philippines

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    Victoria L. Lim

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The decline of the talaba (saccosrea malabonensis production in Barangay Concepcion, Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay motivated the fisher folks to determine the cause of the phenomenon through the Social Action Ministry (SAM – Diocese of Ipil, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay,Philippines who arranged for the conduct of the study. The research was hypothesized to be caused by climate change. Data collection began on January 28 until February 8, 2012 on site. Twelve (12 sampling sites were installed in Concepcion River barangay Balongis, Buayan Zamboanga Sibugay where the barangay’s fish cage and oyster (Talaba farms are Global Positioning System (GPS gadget was used for the identification/markings of sampling stations (07⁰ 46.00 N and 122⁰47.116E to 07⁰45.778 N and 122⁰47.151 E Water and soil/sediment samples were taken and analyzed once a week for three consecutive weeks – January 28 to February 18, 2012. Physical water parameters were taken in situ (pH, Temperature, salinity and TSS. Water temperature raging 24⁰C-31.5⁰C, water pH 7.0-8.24, water salinity 18 -27.6 ppt. Total Suspended Solids (TSS ranged 0.104 g/L to 0.672 g/L – classified turbid water for all sampling sites. Sediment analysis: for mercury containment – qualitative analysis is negative, Soil Classification using the Textual triangle – soil classified as Loamy Sand (Sites 7-10 and Sandy Loam for all other sites. Meiofauna component using the Nematoma, turbellaria, Ciliophora, Ostracoda, Gastrotricha, Tardigrada, Sarcomastigaphora, Sincarida, Copepoda and some other unidentified fauna. Sedimentation rate averaged from 1410-6469 g/m2 per week. The high sediment rate could have caused the decline in oyster production but not by mercury contamination as suspected.

  6. Differential effects of exposure to parasites and bacteria on stress response in turbot Scophthalmus maximus simultaneously stressed by low water depth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Quiroga, J J; Otero-Rodiño, C; Suárez, P; Nieto, T P; García Estévez, J M; San Juan, F; Soengas, J L

    2017-07-01

    The stress response of turbot Scophthalmus maximus was evaluated in fish maintained 8 days under different water depths, normal (NWD, 30 cm depth, total water volume 40 l) or low (LWD, 5 cm depth, total water volume 10 l), in the additional presence of infection-infestation of two pathogens of this species. This was caused by intraperitoneal injection of sublethal doses of the bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida or the parasite Philasterides dicentrarchi (Ciliophora:Scuticociliatida). The LWD conditions were stressful for fish, causing increased levels of cortisol in plasma, decreased levels of glycogen in liver and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) and increased activities of G6Pase and GSase. The presence of bacteria or parasites in fish under NWD resulted in increased cortisol levels in plasma whereas in liver, changes were of minor importance including decreased levels of lactate and GSase activity. The simultaneous presence of bacteria and parasites in fish under NWD resulted a sharp increase in the levels of cortisol in plasma and decreased levels of glucose. Decreased levels of glycogen and lactate and activities of GSase and glutathione reductase (GR), as well as increased activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH) and levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) occurred in the same fish in liver. Finally, the presence of pathogens in S. maximus under stressful conditions elicited by LWD resulted in synergistic actions of both type of stressors in cortisol levels. In liver, the presence of bacteria or parasites induced a synergistic action on several variables such as decreased activities of G6Pase and GSase as well as increased levels of NADP and NADPH and increased activities of GPase, G6PDH and 6PGDH. © 2017 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  7. Analysis of the secondary structure of ITS transcripts in peritrich ciliates (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea): implications for structural evolution and phylogenetic reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Ping; Clamp, John C; Xu, Dapeng

    2010-07-01

    Despite extensive previous morphological work, little agreement has been reached about phylogenetic relationships among peritrich ciliates, making it difficult to study the evolution of the group in a phylogenetic framework. In this study, the nucleotide characteristics and secondary structures of internal transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2) of 26 peritrich ciliates in 12 genera were analyzed. Information from secondary structures of ITS1 and ITS2 then was used to perform the first systematic study of ITS regions in peritrich ciliates, including one species of Rhabdostyla for which no sequence has been reported previously. Lengths of ITS1 and ITS2 sequences varied relatively little among taxa studied, but their G+C content was highly variable. General secondary structure models of ITS1 and ITS2 were proposed for peritrich ciliates and their reliability was assessed by compensatory base changes. The secondary structure of ITS1 contains three major helices in peritrich ciliates and deviations from this basic structure were found in all taxa examined. The core structure of peritrich ITS2 includes four helices, with helix III as the longest and containing a motif 5'-MAC versus GUK-3' at its apex as well as a YU-UY mismatch in helix II. In addition, the structural motifs of both ITS secondary structures were identified. Phylogenetic analyses using ITS data were performed by means of Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and neighbor joining methods. Trees had a consistent branching pattern that included the following features: (1) Rhabdostyla always clustered with members of the family Vorticellidae, instead of members of the family Epistylididae, in which it is now classified on the basis of morphology. (2) The systematically questionable genus Ophrydium closely associated with Carchesium, forming a clearly defined, monophyletic group within the Vorticellidae. This supported the hypothesis derived from previous study based on small subunit rRNA gene sequences that Ophrydium and its few relatives are morphologically anomalous vorticellids, not sufficiently distinct to be given familial status and should be placed within a more broadly defined family Vorticellidae. This study validated for the first time a secondary structure of ITS1 and ITS2 from peritrich ciliates and demonstrated its potential in helping to resolve deep phylogenetic relationships. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. "Candidatus Sonnebornia yantaiensis", a member of candidate division OD1, as intracellular bacteria of the ciliated protist Paramecium bursaria (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Jun; Qing, Yao; Guo, Xiaohong; Warren, Alan

    2014-02-01

    An intracellular bacterium was discovered in an isolate of Paramecium bursaria from a freshwater pond in Yantai, China. The bacteria were abundant and exclusively found in the cytoplasm of the host which, along with the green alga Chlorella, formed a three-partner consortium that could survive in pure water for at least one week. Cloning, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene showed that the bacterium belonged to the uncultured candidate division OD1, which usually forms part of the rare biosphere. Transmission electron microscopy and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with specific probes showed that the bacteria were usually located close to the perialgal membranes of endosymbiotic Chlorella cells, and occasionally irregularly distributed throughout the host cytoplasm. The name "Candidatus Sonnebornia yantaiensis" gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed for the new bacterium. A strongly supported monophyletic subclade, OD1-p, which included the new species, was recognized and this study highlights that protists can be important hosts for rare bacterial taxa. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  9. Ultrastructure observation on the cells at different life history stages of Cryptocaryon irritans (Ciliophora: Prostomatea), a parasitic ciliate of marine fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Rui; Ni, Bing; Fan, Xinpeng; Warren, Alan; Yin, Fei; Gu, Fukang

    2016-09-01

    Cells of Cryptocaryon irritans at different life history stages were studied using both light and electron microscopy. The characteristics of several organelles were revealed for the first time at the ultrastructural level. It was confirmed that the cytostome of trophonts, protomonts and theronts was surrounded by cilium-palp triplets rather than ciliary triplets. The nematodesmata underlying the circumoral dikinetids were single bundles, whereas these were always paired in Prorodontids. Toxicysts were present in late-stage tomonts and theronts, but were absent in trophonts and protomonts. We posited that toxicysts might play a role in infection and invasion of host-fish tissue by theronts. The adoral brosse was unlike that of any other family of the class Prostomatea based on its location and morphology. Membranous folds were present in trophonts, protomonts and theronts. These folds were longer and more highly developed in C. irritans than in exclusively free-living prostome ciliates suggesting that they might be linked to parasitism in C. irritans. Trophonts, protomonts and theronts had multiple contractile vacuoles. The basic ultrastructure of the contractile vacuole of C. irritans was similar to that of other kinetofragminophoran ciliates. They might play different roles in different stages of the life cycle since their ultrastructure varied among trophonts, protomonts and theronts.

  10. Morphology and 18S rDNA gene sequence of Spirostomum minus and Spirostomum teres (Ciliophora: Heterotrichea) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    OpenAIRE

    Noemi M. Fernandes; Inácio D. da Silva Neto

    2013-01-01

    Species of Spirostomum Ehrenberg, 1838 are widely used as model organisms in ecological studies of environmental impacts and symbioses between ciliates and human pathogenic bacteria. However, the taxonomy of this genus is confused by the superficiality of the morphological descriptions of its included species, and the use of only a few characters for their differentiation. The present study provides details of total infraciliature, nuclear apparatus, morphometric data and 18S rDNA gene sequen...

  11. Morphology and 18S rDNA gene sequence of Spirostomum minus and Spirostomum teres (Ciliophora: Heterotrichea from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noemi M. Fernandes

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Species of Spirostomum Ehrenberg, 1838 are widely used as model organisms in ecological studies of environmental impacts and symbioses between ciliates and human pathogenic bacteria. However, the taxonomy of this genus is confused by the superficiality of the morphological descriptions of its included species, and the use of only a few characters for their differentiation. The present study provides details of total infraciliature, nuclear apparatus, morphometric data and 18S rDNA gene sequences of Spirostomum teres Claparède & Lachmann, 1858 and Spirostomum minus Roux, 1901, isolated from a sewage treatment plant and a freshwater lake in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, respectively. For the morphological descriptions of S. teres and S. minus, living cells were observed using bright-field and differential interference contrast (DIC microscopy, the total infraciliature and nuclear apparatus were revealed by staining with protargol, and ciliary patterns were observed also with scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The complete sequences of the 18S rDNA of S. teres and S. minus were obtained using eukaryotic universal primers, and then compared with sequences of other species and populations of Spirostomum deposited in the GenBank database. Living S. minus measured 400-800 µm in length and 55-115 µm in width, with the following characteristics: adoral zone of membranelles approximately 112 µm long; inconspicuous paroral kinety; 30-40 kineties in somatic ciliature; moniliform macronucleus with 9-25 nodes, approximately 12 micronuclei; single and posterior contractile vacuole; and yellow-brown cytoplasm. Living and fully extended S. teres measured approximately 250 µm in length and 65 ìm in width, with the following characteristics: adoral zone of membranelles approximately 92 µm long; approximately 30 somatic kineties; compact macronucleus, approximately five micronuclei; macronuclear groove present; single and posterior contractile vacuole; and colorless cytoplasm. Evidence from 18S rDNA sequences confirms the identification of S. teres and suggests the existence of cryptic species closely related to S. minus. The use of silver impregnation technique (protargol allowed the observation and description of a greater number of characters in S. minus and S. teres, thus assisting the research that require identification of these species.

  12. Paramecium putrinum (Ciliophora, Protozoa): the first insight into the variation of two DNA fragments - molecular support for the existence of cryptic species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarcz, Sebastian; Rautian, Maria; Potekhin, Alexey; Sawka, Natalia; Beliavskaya, Alexandra; Kiselev, Andrey; Nekrasova, Irina; Przyboś, Ewa

    2014-04-01

    Paramecium putrinum (Claparede & Lachmann 1858) is one of the smallest (80-140 μm long) species of the genus Paramecium. Although it commonly occurs in freshwater reservoirs, no molecular studies of P. putrinum have been conducted to date. Herein we present an assessment of molecular variation in 27 strains collected from widely separated populations by using two selected DNA fragments (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-5'LSU rDNA and COI mtDNA). Both the trees and haplotype networks reconstructed for both genome fragments show that the studied strains of P. putrinum form five main haplogroups. The mean distance between the studied strains is p-distance=0.007/0.068 (rDNA/COI) and exhibits similar variability as that between P. bursaria syngens. Based on these data, one could hypothesize that the clusters revealed in the present study may correspond to previously reported syngens and that there are at least five cryptic species within P. putrinum. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Monoculture of the ciliate protozoan Euplotes sp. (Ciliophora; Hypotrichia fed with different diets - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v35i1.11795

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emílio Mateus Costa Melo

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Ciliate protozoa of the genus Euplotes commonly appears contaminating mass cultures of rotifers but also with potential to be used as live food in the larviculture of marine fish. To obtain a monoculture of Euplotes sp., three diets were tested: 1 microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata, 2 commercial diet for rotifers Culture Selco 3000, and 3 baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The ciliates were inoculated at 10 ind. mL-¹. On day 5, protozoa densities in the groups fed the commercial diet (1,911.0 ± 248.7 ind. mL-¹ and the baker’s yeast (2,600.0 ± 195.3 ind. mL-1 did not differ, but were higher than the group fed microalgae (2.0 ± 1.4 ind. mL-1 (p -¹ than in the groups fed microalgae (3.0 ± 1.4 ind. mL-¹ or commercial diet (11,287.0 ± 1,468.0 ind. mL-¹. An exponential growth curve was observed for the protozoa fed baker’s yeast (R² = 0.992; p Euplotes sp. can result in very high densities of this protozoan.  

  14. Morphology and Gene Sequence of Levicoleps biwae n. gen., n. sp. (Ciliophora, Prostomatida), a Proposed Endemic from the Ancient Lake Biwa, Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    FOISSNER, WILHELM; KUSUOKA, YASUSHI; SHIMANO, SATOSHI

    2010-01-01

    Levicoleps biwae n. gen., n. sp. was discovered in organic mud on the shore of Lake Biwa, Japan. Its morphology and small subunit rRNA gene sequence were studied with standard methods. Further, we established a terminology for the colepid armour and selected four features for genus recognition: the number of armour tiers, the structure of the tier plates, the presence/absence of armour spines, and the number of adoral organelles (three or five). The Japanese colepid, a barrel-shaped ciliate with an average size of 75 × 45 μm, has six armour tiers and hirtus-type tier plates, but lacks armour spines, both in the environment and in laboratory culture. Thus, it is considered to represent a new genus. This rank is supported by the considerable genetic distance (7%) from the common Coleps hirtus. Although L. biwae looks quite similar to C. hirtus in vivo, it is very likely most closely related to Coleps amphacanthus, a species with conspicuous armour spines, as indicated by body size, the number of ciliary rows and, especially, the multiple caudal cilia. Lake Biwa is about four million years old and inhabited by many endemic organisms, ranging from algae to large fish. Thus, we suspect that L. biwae is restricted to Lake Biwa or, at least, to Asia. Based on literature data and the generic features established, we also propose the new genus Reticoleps for Coleps remanei Kahl, 1933, and resurrect the genus Pinacocoleps Diesing, 1865 to include Coleps incurvus Ehrenberg, 1833, Coleps pulcher Spiegel, 1926, Coleps tessalatus Kahl, 1930 and, probably, Baikalocoleps quadratus Obolkina, 1995a. Nine colepid genera are diagnosed and dichotomously keyed. PMID:18460156

  15. Morphology and gene sequence of Levicoleps biwae n. gen., n. sp. (Ciliophora, Prostomatida), a proposed endemic from the ancient Lake Biwa, Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foissner, Wilhelm; Kusuoka, Yasushi; Shimano, Satoshi

    2008-01-01

    Levicoleps biwae n. gen., n. sp. was discovered in organic mud on the shore of Lake Biwa, Japan. Its morphology and small subunit rRNA gene sequence were studied with standard methods. Further, we established a terminology for the colepid armour and selected four features for genus recognition: the number of armour tiers, the structure of the tier plates, the presence/absence of armour spines, and the number of adoral organelles (three or five). The Japanese colepid, a barrel-shaped ciliate with an average size of 75 x 45 microm, has six armour tiers and hirtus-type tier plates, but lacks armour spines, both in the environment and in laboratory culture. Thus, it is considered to represent a new genus. This rank is supported by the considerable genetic distance (7%) from the common Coleps hirtus. Although L. biwae looks quite similar to C. hirtus in vivo, it is very likely most closely related to Coleps amphacanthus, a species with conspicuous armour spines, as indicated by body size, the number of ciliary rows and, especially, the multiple caudal cilia. Lake Biwa is about four million years old and inhabited by many endemic organisms, ranging from algae to large fish. Thus, we suspect that L. biwae is restricted to Lake Biwa or, at least, to Asia. Based on literature data and the generic features established, we also propose the new genus Reticoleps for Coleps remanei Kahl, 1933, and resurrect the genus Pinacocoleps Diesing, 1865 to include Coleps incurvus Ehrenberg, 1833, Coleps pulcher Spiegel, 1926, Coleps tessalatus Kahl, 1930 and, probably, Baikalocoleps quadratus Obolkina, 1995a. Nine colepid genera are diagnosed and dichotomously keyed.

  16. Morphology and Gene Sequence of Levicoleps biwae n. gen., n. sp. (Ciliophora, Prostomatida), a Proposed Endemic from the Ancient Lake Biwa, Japan

    OpenAIRE

    FOISSNER, WILHELM; KUSUOKA, YASUSHI; SHIMANO, SATOSHI

    2008-01-01

    Levicoleps biwae n. gen., n. sp. was discovered in organic mud on the shore of Lake Biwa, Japan. Its morphology and small subunit rRNA gene sequence were studied with standard methods. Further, we established a terminology for the colepid armour and selected four features for genus recognition: the number of armour tiers, the structure of the tier plates, the presence/absence of armour spines, and the number of adoral organelles (three or five). The Japanese colepid, a barrel-shaped ciliate w...

  17. Morphological variability, spatial distribution and abundance of Helicostomella species (Ciliophora: Tintinnina in relation to environmental factors (Argentine shelf; 40-55°S

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana F. Santoferrara

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available For the first time a taxonomic and ecological study of species belonging to Helicostomella was performed over a mesoscale spatial distribution by examining ca. 3000 loricae collected in Argentine shelf waters during the austral autumn. Microscopic and statistical analysis revealed that the general shape and the oral diameter remained practically constant in the whole area surveyed, despite a continuous length fluctuation of ca. 300 µm, which includes the entire range present in eight previously reported species. Consequently, we consider that the genus may be represented only by H. subulata, whose strong fluctuations in length (mostly attributed to an increase in the collar length, density and biomass seem to respond to temperature, food availability and front-related processes. In Buenos Aires coastal waters associated with a quasi permanent estuarine front (40-40.5°S, mixed conditions would favour moderate abundances of long loricae, whereas in northern (42.5-45.5°S and southern (46-54.5°S Patagonian waters, high (103 ind. L-1 and low (< 5 ind. L-1 densities of short loricae seem to be a consequence of stratification and encystment, respectively. The non-occurrence of the species at 41-42°S, together with a three-fold reduction in length-related parameters between specimens from Buenos Aires and Patagonian waters, suggests a disjunct distribution.

  18. The Green Tetrahymena utriculariae n. sp (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) with Its Endosymbiotic Algae (Micractinium sp.), Living in Traps of a Carnivorous Aquatic Plant

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pitsch, G.; Adamec, Lubomír; Dirren, S.; Nitsche, F.; Šimek, Karel; Sirová, Dagmara; Posch, T.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 64, č. 3 (2017), s. 322-335 ISSN 1066-5234 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA13-00243S Institutional support: RVO:67985939 ; RVO:60077344 Keywords : Ciliata * mixotrophy * Utricularia traps Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology; EE - Microbiology, Virology (BC-A) OBOR OECD: Microbiology; Microbiology (BC-A) Impact factor: 2.692, year: 2016

  19. First record of two ectoparasitic ciliates of the genus Trichodina (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae) parasitizing gills of an invasive freshwater fish, Micropercops swinhonis, in Tibet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhe; Deng, Qiong; Zhou, Tong; Yang, Hao; Gu, Zemao

    2018-07-01

    Although high diversity of parasitic ciliates has been reported in China, little is known about the species from high altitude areas, especially in Tibet. To investigate the species of parasitic ciliates in Tibet, a project was initiated in the Chabalang wetland in 2013. Two Trichodina species, namely, Trichodina sp. and T. reticulata Hirschmann & Partsch, 1955, were isolated from gills of an invasive fish, Micropercops swinhonis for the first time. In the present study, we provided the morphological, morphometrical, and molecular characterizations of the two species and conducted the phylogenetic analyses of mobilids based on the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU rDNA) sequences. Both morphological characters and morphometric data of the T. reticulata agreed well with previous studies. Although two partial SSU rDNA sequences were obtained in the present study, only the sequence of T. reticulata population in the present study was thought to be reliable. The other sequence may not belong to the other species. Thus, we regarded the other species isolated in the present study as Trichodina sp. to avoid the wrong or confused species identification. Morphologically, Trichodina sp. is distinguished mainly by its large body shape with a broad adhesive disk, robust and obliquely quadrilateral blades, and well-developed rays. T. reticulata is mainly characterized with the 8-12 spherical or elliptical granules in the central zone of adhesive disk. Phylogenetic analyses consistently showed the two ectoparasites clustered with freshwater species of the genus Trichodina within the order Mobilida. Our study extended the host range of T. reticulata and supplemented the molecular data. Also, results reveal that invasion of exotic fish may cause a potential threat to native fish by introducing or dispersing parasitic ciliates.

  20. Size selective feeding in ICyclidium glaucoma/I (Ciliophora, Scuticociliatida) and its effects on bacterial community structure: a study from a continuous cultivation system

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Posch, T.; Jezbera, Jan; Vrba, Jaroslav; Šimek, Karel; Pernthaler, J.; Andreatta, S.; Sonntag, B.

    2001-01-01

    Roč. 42, - (2001), s. 217-227 ISSN 0095-3628 Grant - others:ANB(AT) OENB6513; AKTION(AT) projects23p5; AKTION(AT) 2000/22 Keywords : protozoa * bacteria * predator-prey relation Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 2.891, year: 2001

  1. Delimiting Species Boundaries within a Paraphyletic Species Complex: Insights from Morphological, Genetic, and Molecular Data on Paramecium sonneborni (Paramecium aurelia species complex, Ciliophora, Protozoa).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przyboś, Ewa; Tarcz, Sebastian; Rautian, Maria; Sawka, Natalia

    2015-09-01

    The demarcation of boundaries between protist species is often problematic because of the absence of a uniform species definition, the abundance of cryptic diversity, and the occurrence of convergent morphology. The ciliates belonging to the Paramecium aurelia complex, consisting of 15 species, are a good model for such systematic and evolutionary studies. One member of the complex is P. sonneborni, previously known only from one stand in Texas (USA), but recently found in two new sampling sites in Cyprus (creeks running to Salt Lake and Oroklini Lake near Larnaca). The studied Paramecium sonneborni strains (from the USA and Cyprus) reveal low viability in the F1 and F2 generations of interstrain hybrids and may be an example of ongoing allopatric speciation. Despite its molecular distinctiveness, we postulate that P. sonneborni should remain in the P. aurelia complex, making it a paraphyletic taxon. Morphological studies have revealed that some features of the nuclear apparatus of P. sonneborni correspond to the P. aurelia spp. complex, while others are similar to P. jenningsi and P. schewiakoffi. The observed discordance indicates rapid splitting of the P. aurelia-P. jenningsi-P. schewiakoffi group, in which genetic, morphological, and molecular boundaries between species are not congruent. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  2. Disentangling the Taxonomy of Rickettsiales and Description of Two Novel Symbionts ("Candidatus Bealeia paramacronuclearis" and "Candidatus Fokinia cryptica") Sharing the Cytoplasm of the Ciliate Protist Paramecium biaurelia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szokoli, Franziska; Castelli, Michele; Sabaneyeva, Elena; Schrallhammer, Martina; Krenek, Sascha; Doak, Thomas G; Berendonk, Thomas U; Petroni, Giulio

    2016-12-15

    inhabiting the same Paramecium host (Ciliophora, Alveolata). Both symbionts belong to "traditional" Rickettsiales, one representing a new species of the genus "Candidatus Fokinia" ("Candidatus Midichloriaceae"), and the other representing a new genus of a "basal" Rickettsiales According to newly characterized sequences and to a critical revision of recent literature, we propose a taxonomic reorganization of "traditional" Rickettsiales that we split into two orders: Rickettsiales sensu stricto and Holosporales ord. nov. This work represents a critical revision, including new records of a group of symbionts frequently occurring in protists and whose biodiversity is still largely underestimated. Copyright © 2016 Szokoli et al.

  3. Taxonomic descriptions of three marine colepid ciliates, Nolandia sinica spec. nov., Apocoleps caoi spec. nov. and Tiarina fusa (Claparede & Lachmann, 1858) Bergh, 1881 (Ciliophora, Prorodontida).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xiangrui; Gao, Shan; Liu, Weiwei; Song, Weibo; Al-Rasheid, Khaled A S; Warren, Alan

    2012-03-01

    The morphology of three marine colepid ciliates, Nolandia sinica spec. nov., Apocoleps caoi spec. nov. and Tiarina fusa (Claparède & Lachmann, 1858) Bergh, 1881, isolated from Chinese coastal waters, was investigated. N. sinica spec. nov. may be separated from its congeners by the structure of its armour plates, each of which may have up to five reniform windows. A. caoi spec. nov. is characterized by its large body with broad anterior end and by having 10-12 long, sharp posterior spines. New data and an improved diagnosis are supplied for Tiarina fusa (Claparède & Lachmann, 1858) Bergh, 1881, which has a spindle-shaped body, about 16 ciliary rows and a single adoral organelle. Sequence similarities with other available colepid species were determined.

  4. Trichodinids (Ciliophora: Peritrichida) of Mugil platanus (Mugiliformes: Mugilidae) and Micropogonias furnieri (Perciformes: Sciaenidae) from Samborombón Bay, Argentina, with the description of a new species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcotegui, Paula S; Martorelli, Sergio R

    2009-09-01

    During surveys of parasites of the whitemouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest) and the mullet Mugil platanus Günther from Samborombón Bay, Argentina, Trichodina puytoraci, T. lepsii, T. jadranica, T. murmanica, Diparitella simplex and Trichodina scalensis sp. n. were morphologically studied. Taxonomic and morphometric data for these trichodinids based on dry silver nitrate-impregnated specimens are presented. This study is the first formal report of these trichodinids from the southwest Atlantic Ocean, and the description of a new species from M. platanus.

  5. Influence of crude oil and pulp and paper mill effluent on mixed infections of Trichodina cottidarium and T. saintjohnsi (Ciliophora) parasitizing Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus and M. scorpius

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, R.A.; Barker, D.E.; Williams-Ryan, K.; Hooper, R.G.

    1994-01-01

    Samples of longhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus) were exposed to sediment contaminated with crude oil or pulp and paper mill effluent for periods up to 13 months in the laboratory. Other samples were collected at sites where crude oil or effluent from a pulp and paper mill are discharged. The intensity of gill infections of Trichodina spp. on exposed fish was significantly higher than on controls 5, 9, and 13 months after exposure. The intensity of the ciliates was also greater on sculpins collected near an oil-receiving terminal than on those sampled 5 km from the polluted site. Field collections of longhorn and shorthorn (Myoxocephalus scorpius) sculpins at and distant from a pulp and paper mill had high and low intensities of the ciliates, respectively. Similarly, the intensity of trichodinid ciliates was also significantly greater in longhorn sculpins exposed to effluent-contaminated sediment than in controls 5 months after exposure. The results suggest that the intensity of gill-inhibiting species such as trichodinids in susceptible fish hosts increases after chronic exposure to crude oil and to pulp and paper mill effluent, and the parasites may serve as indicators of pollution. 24 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  6. New Comparative Analysis Based on the Secondary Structure of SSU-rRNA Gene Reveals the Evolutionary Trend and the Family-Genus Characters of Mobilida (Ciliophora, Peritrichia).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yong; Zhao, Yuan-Jun; Wang, Qin; Tang, Fa-Hui

    2015-08-01

    In order to reveal the structural evolutionary trend of Mobilida ciliates, twenty-six SSU-rRNA sequences of mobilid species, including seven ones newly sequenced in the present work, were used for comparative phylogenic analysis based on the RNA secondary structure. The research results indicate that all the secondary structures except domains Helix 10, Helix 12, and Helix 37 could be regarded as the criterions in classification between the family Trichodinidae and Urceolariida, and four regions including Helix E10-1, Helix 29, Helix 43, and Helix 45-Helix 46 could be as criterions in classification between the genus Trichodinella and Trichodina in family Trichodinidae. After the analysis of common structural feature within the Mobilida, it was found that the secondary structure of V6 could prove the family Urceolariidae primitive status. This research has further suggested that the genus Trichodina could be divergent earlier than Trichodinella in the family Trichodinidae. In addition, the relationship between the secondary structure and topology of phylogenic tree that the branching order of most clades corresponds with the secondary structure of species within each clade of phylogenetic tree was first uncovered and discussed in the present study.

  7. First report of Limnoricus ponticus Dovgal and Lozowskiy (Ciliophora: Suctorea) as epibionts on Pycnophyes (Kinorhyncha) from the Indian Ocean with key to species of the genus Limnoricus

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Dovgal, I.; Chatterjee, T.; Ingole, B.S.; Nanajkar, M.

    of individuals from type copepoda host: body length (individuals from Kinorhyncha) 14-24 µm (47-49 µm under colonization of the type copepod host); width in the middle of body 12-17 µm (22-30 µm); macronucleus diameter 6-8 µm (13-16 µm); length of the lorica 44...

  8. Disentangling the Taxonomy of Rickettsiales and Description of Two Novel Symbionts (“Candidatus Bealeia paramacronuclearis” and “Candidatus Fokinia cryptica”) Sharing the Cytoplasm of the Ciliate Protist Paramecium biaurelia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szokoli, Franziska; Castelli, Michele; Sabaneyeva, Elena; Schrallhammer, Martina; Krenek, Sascha; Doak, Thomas G.; Berendonk, Thomas U.

    2016-01-01

    characterization of two novel bacterial symbionts inhabiting the same Paramecium host (Ciliophora, Alveolata). Both symbionts belong to “traditional” Rickettsiales, one representing a new species of the genus “Candidatus Fokinia” (“Candidatus Midichloriaceae”), and the other representing a new genus of a “basal” Rickettsiales. According to newly characterized sequences and to a critical revision of recent literature, we propose a taxonomic reorganization of “traditional” Rickettsiales that we split into two orders: Rickettsiales sensu stricto and Holosporales ord. nov. This work represents a critical revision, including new records of a group of symbionts frequently occurring in protists and whose biodiversity is still largely underestimated. PMID:27742680

  9. Владимир Тимофеевич Шевяков (1859–1930): изучение простейших Неаполитанского залива. История длиною в жизнь. Часть II. В cоветской России

    OpenAIRE

    С.И. Фокин; Н.Е. Завойская

    2016-01-01

    В настоящей, второй части статьи описана история опубликования В.Т. Шевяковым монографии, посвящённой простейшим класса Acantharia (1926), которая до сих пор не утратила своей научной ценности. С 1927 г. Шевяков приступил к изучению инфузорий (Ciliophora) Неаполитанского залива, но эта работа осталась незавершённой из-за принудительного сокращения международной активности советских учёных после 1928 г. и преждевременной смерти профессора осенью 1930 г. История изучения В.Т. Шевяковым средизем...

  10. Variations morphologiques de l’appareil nucléaire chez les ciliés Astomes Almophrya bivacuolata et A. mediovacuolata (Protozoa : Ciliophora endocommensaux d’oligochètes terricoles du Cameroun

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nana P.A.

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available L’imprégnation argentique complétée par la coloration nucléaire de Feulgen et la coloration au DAPI nous ont permis d’étudier les variations morphologiques de l’appareil nucléaire chez deux espèces de ciliés Astomes, Almophrya bivacuolata (de Puytorac et Dragesco, 1968 et A. mediovacuolata (Ngassam, 1983 endocommensaux. Nous avons mis en évidence d’importantes digitations et la présence de bandes sombres dans la structure du macronoyau en “H” des petits types cellulaires ainsi que la présence de formes intermédiaires entre “H” et “X” dans ces deux espèces.

  11. Soil ciliate bioassay for the pore water habitat. A missing link between microflora and earthworm testing in soil toxicity assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berthold, A. [Lab. for Ecotoxicology, Univ. of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Austria); Jakl, T. [Chemicals Policy Unit, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Vienna (Austria)

    2002-07-01

    Background, Scope and Goal. The chemical, pesticide and biocide legislation of the European Union assembles a variety of bioassays. Among the ecotoxicological tests involved, the testing strategy for the aquatic compartment builds up on three tests reflecting the main trophic levels (algae, Daphnia, fish). For the soil compartment at least one trophic level for a basic food chain is missing, namely between microflora and earthworms. Protozoa are an ideal missing link as they were shown to be the most prominent faunal contributors to nutrient cycling in soil ecosystems and as they represent the lacking first level consumers as well as the highly diverse microfauna. As protozoa inhabit the soil pore water, they can serve as direct indicators for the solved and thus bioavailable portion of xenobiotics. In order to widen the spectrum of available toxicity tests for a meaningful effect assessment for the soil compartment, a test with the soil ciliate Colpoda inflata (Ciliophora, Protozoa), introduced by Pratt et al. (1997), was improved. Methods. The novel improvements comprise a substantially refined inoculation and counting procedure, as well as the adaptation to yeast as a nutritional source. The test was designed to be rapid and easy to perform, in order to have both a higher degree of standardisation and reproducibility, as well as to be in compliance with international test guidelines. Results and Discussion. Five test substances, cadmium chloride, potassium dichromate, acetone, atrazine, and metolachlor, were used in single-compound, static, short-term exposure (24 h, 48 h) tests to examine the effect on the population growth of C. inflata. The median effective concentrations (EC50) were 0.17 to 0.26 mg/l for Cd, 34 to 63 mg/l for Cr, >3000 mg/l for acetone, 91-112 mg/l for atrazine and 83-119 mg/l for metolachlor. The equilibrium partitioning approach was used to extrapolate the results to total soil exposure and thus enable a sensitivity comparison to