Molecular and Morphological Diversity of the Oxymonad Genera Monocercomonoides and Blattamonas gen. nov

Publication date: Available online 30 June 2018Source: ProtistAuthor(s): Sebastian C. Treitli, Michael Kotyk, Naoji Yubuki, Eliška Jirounková, Jitka Vlasáková, Pavla Butovičová, Petr Šípek, Ivan Čepička, Vladimír HamplOxymonads are a group of flagellates living as gut symbionts of insects or vertebrates. They have several unique features, one of them being the absence of mitochondria. Diversity of this group is seriously understudied, which is particularly true for small species from the Polymastigidae family. We isolated 34 strains of oxymonads with Polymastigidae-like morphology from 24 host species and unused cesspits and sequenced the SSU rRNA gene. Our strains formed two clades in the phylogenetic tree with Streblomastix strix branching between them. This topology was also supported by a three-gene phylogenetic analysis. Despite considerable genetic differences between the clades, light and electron microscopy revealed only subtle differences. The larger clade is considered genus Monocercomonoides and the isolates belonging here were classified into three new species (including the first potentially free-living species), two previously described species, and three unclassified lineages. The smaller clade, here described as Blattamonas gen. nov., consists of three newly described species. Concomitantly with the description of Blattamonas, we elevate the Monocercomonoides subgenus Brachymonas to the genus level. Our study shows that, despite their conserved morp...

Source: Protist - July 6, 2018 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research