Obituary: Keith Vickerman, March 21, 1933-June 28, 2016
Publication date: November 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 5 Author(s): Francis E.G. Cox (Source: Protist)
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Obituary: Eberhard Schnepf (April 4, 1931 –April 10, 2016)
Publication date: November 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 5 Author(s): Hermann Bothe, Michael Melkonian (Source: Protist)
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Cohesion of Clonal Life History, Senescence and Rejuvenation Induced by Autogamy of the Histophagous Ciliate Tetrahymena rostrata
Publication date: November 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 5 Author(s): Andrzej Kaczanowski, Clifford F. Brunk, Stanislaw L. Kazubski The histophagous ciliate Tetrahymena rostrata was found as a parasite in the renal organs of the land snails Zonitoides nitidus and Cochlicopa lubrica. A starvation medium induced encystment, meiosis, autogamy, and development of new macronuclei. The cell division rate declined linearly with number of divisions from the last autogamy until senescence. The senescing strains were rejuvenated by further encystment-induced autogamy. It is expected, that these processes contribute to ...
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Light- and Electron-microscopical Study of Belonocystis marina sp. nov. (Eukaryota: incertae sedis)
Publication date: November 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 5 Author(s): Vladimir I. Klimov, Vasily V. Zlatogursky Belonocystis Rainer, 1968 is an enigmatic protist genus, which currently lacks any supergroup affiliation. The spherical cells of this organism move on the substratum using fine non-branching pseudopodia. The cell surface is surrounded with a spiky covering. Belonocystis marina sp. nov. was studied using light- and electron microscopy. It was clearly shown that the surface structures of Belonocystis were scales, not a capsule. The new species could be distinguished by the morphology of the scales, wh...
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Induction of Maltose Release by Light in the Endosymbiont Chlorella variabilis of Paramecium bursaria
Publication date: November 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 5 Author(s): Aika Shibata, Fumio Takahashi, Masahiro Kasahara, Nobutaka Imamura The endosymbiotic green algae of Paramecium bursaria are known to release a photosynthate to the host cells. The endosymbiont Chlorella variabilis F36-ZK isolated in Japan releases maltose under acidic conditions, and such release requires both light and low pH. However, whether photosynthate release is due to light sensing by photoreceptors or is merely a consequence of active photosynthesis is unclear. Herein, we studied the effect of light on maltose release from C. vari...
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
A Bowl with Marbles: Revision of the Thecate Amoeba Genus Lecythium (Chlamydophryidae, Tectofilosida, Cercozoa, Rhizaria) Including a Description of Four New Species and an Identification Key
Publication date: November 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 5 Author(s): Kenneth Dumack, Christina Baumann, Michael Bonkowski Although testate amoebae have attracted interest of protistologists for more than 150 years, some groups especially those with a hyaline, organic test (= theca) are still poorly known. One of those is the genus Lecythium (Chlamydophryidae, Tectofilosida, Cercozoa, Rhizaria), first described by Hertwig and Lesser in 1874. Only old, sometimes obscure, species descriptions were available until only recently a new species of Lecythium was described and a small ribosomal subunit RNA gene (SSU)...
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Morphological and Phylogenetic Description of Trypanosoma noyesi sp. nov.: An Australian Wildlife Trypanosome within the T. cruzi Clade
This study provides novel information on the morphology and genetic variability of an Australian trypanosome within the T. cruzi clade. (Source: Protist)
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
An Estimation of the Global Diversity and Distribution of the Smallest Eukaryotes: Biogeography of Marine Benthic Heterotrophic Flagellates
Publication date: November 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 5 Author(s): Andrey I. Azovsky, Denis V. Tikhonenkov, Yuri A. Mazei Protists are ubiquitous, but the factors influencing their diversity and biogeography remain unclear. We use a comprehensive database on the marine benthic heterotrophic flagellate (HF) morphospecies to explore the worldwide patterns in their diversity and distribution in comparison with predictions of the Ubiquity model (UM) and Moderate Endemicity model (MEM). The number of known HF morphospecies was limited (even when considering the rates of descriptions), and the local-to-global di...
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The Large Subunit rDNA Sequence of Plasmodiophora brassicae Does not Contain Intra-species Polymorphism
Publication date: December 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 6 Author(s): Arne Schwelm, Cédric Berney, Christina Dixelius, David Bassc, Sigrid Neuhauser Clubroot disease caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae is one of the most important diseases of cultivated brassicas. P. brassicae occurs in pathotypes which differ in the aggressiveness towards their Brassica host plants. To date no DNA based method to distinguish these pathotypes has been described. In 2011 polymorphism within the 28S rDNA of P. brassicae was reported which potentially could allow to distinguish pathotypes without the need of time-consuming bio...
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The Cytoskeleton of Parabasalian Parasites Comprises Proteins that Share Properties Common to Intermediate Filament Proteins
Publication date: December 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 6 Author(s): Harald Preisner, Eli Levy Karin, Gereon Poschmann, Kai Stühler, Tal Pupko, Sven B. Gould Certain protist lineages bear cytoskeletal structures that are germane to them and define their individual group. Trichomonadida are excavate parasites united by a unique cytoskeletal framework, which includes tubulin-based structures such as the pelta and axostyle, but also other filaments such as the striated costa whose protein composition remains unknown. We determined the proteome of the detergent-resistant cytoskeleton of Tetratrichomonas gall...
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Acanthamoeba and Dictyostelium Use Different Foraging Strategies
Publication date: December 2016 Source:Protist, Volume 167, Issue 6 Author(s): Nick A. Kuburich, Nirakar Adhikari, Jeffrey A. Hadwiger Amoeba often use cell movement as a mechanism to find food, such as bacteria, in their environment. The chemotactic movement of the soil amoeba Dictyostelium to folate or other pterin compounds released by bacteria is a well-documented foraging mechanism. Acanthamoeba can also feed on bacteria but relatively little is known about the mechanism(s) by which this amoeba locates bacteria. Acanthamoeba movement in the presence of folate or bacteria was analyzed in above agar assays and comp...
Source: Protist - October 14, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Taxonomic Clarification of the Unusual Dinophyte Gymnodinium limneticum Wo łosz. (Gymnodiniaceae) from the Tatra Mountains
Publication date: December 2015 Source:Protist, Volume 166, Issue 6 Author(s): Juliane Kretschmann, Natalia H. Filipowicz, Paweł M. Owsianny, Carmen Zinssmeister, Marc Gottschling The Gymnodiniaceae –even in a strict sense– comprise a vast diversity of dinophytes regarding morphology and ecology. Taxonomy and nomenclature of their constituent species remain problematic, although crucial to fully explore the biology of the group. Here, we present the rarely documented dinophyte Gymnodinium limneticum from its type locality at Lake Morskie Oko in Poland, for which we established strains and made extensive ...
Source: Protist - June 17, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Ultrastructure of Selenidium pendula, the Type Species of Archigregarines, and Phylogenetic Relations to Other Marine Apicomplexa
In this study, we provide new ultrastructural data and phylogenies based on SSU rDNA sequences using the type species of archigregarines, the Selenidiidae Selenidium pendula Giard, 1884. We describe for the first time the syzygy and early gamogony at the ultrastructural level, revealing a characteristic nuclear multiplication with centrocones, cryptomitosis, filamentous network of chromatin, a cyst wall secretion and a 9+0 flagellar axoneme of the male gamete. S. pendula belongs to a monophyletic lineage that includes several other related species, all infecting Sedentaria Polychaeta (Spionidae, Sabellaridae, Sabellidae an...
Source: Protist - June 17, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Fine-structural Observations on Siliceous Scale Production and Shell Assembly in the Testate Amoeba Paulinella chromatophora
Publication date: Available online 7 June 2016 Source:Protist Author(s): Mami Nomura, Ken-ichiro Ishida The fine structure of shell formation was observed in P. chromatophora. Scales were formed one by one in silica deposition vesicles (SDVs) that were supported by an array of microtubules, which are probably involved in determining the shape and size of scales. The timing of silicic acid transport into an SDV was shown to be at an early stage of scale production because silicon was detected within SDVs containing immature scales. During the shell construction process, vesicles containing two types of dense materia...
Source: Protist - June 6, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The Species Problem in Myxomycetes Revisited
Publication date: Available online 6 June 2016 Source:Protist Author(s): Laura M. Walker, Steven L. Stephenson Species identification in the myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds or myxogastrids) poses particular challenges to researchers as a result of their morphological plasticity and frequent alteration between sexual and asexual life strategies. Traditionally, myxomycete morphology has been used as the primary method of species delimitation. However, with the increasing availability of genetic information, traditional myxomycete taxonomy is being increasingly challenged, and new hypotheses continue to emerge. Du...
Source: Protist - June 5, 2016 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
