Morphological and phylogenetic investigations shed light on evolutionary relationships of the enigmatic genus Copemetopus (Ciliophora, Alveolata), with the proposal of Copemetopus verae sp. nov
- PMID: 35248818
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2022.125878
Morphological and phylogenetic investigations shed light on evolutionary relationships of the enigmatic genus Copemetopus (Ciliophora, Alveolata), with the proposal of Copemetopus verae sp. nov
Abstract
Copemetopus Villeneuve-Brachon, 1940 is a rare, poorly known sapropelic ciliate genus composed of only two valid nominal species. Over time, Copemetopus was taxonomically assigned to Heterotrichea and Armophorea classes, but its phylogenetic affinities remained unknown. Until the present study, there were no molecular data available for Copemetopus representatives. Here, we present the 18S and 28S-rDNA sequences and the phylogenetic position of Copemetopus verae sp. nov., as well as its detailed morphological description based on live observations, protargol impregnation, and scanning electron microscopy. Transmission electron micrographs of the type species C. subsalsus Villeneuve-Brachon, 1940 reveal new morphological traits and a unique somatic ciliature pattern of Copemetopus, composed by short segments of dikinetids with one or two supplementary kinetosomes. The phylogenetic trees recovered Copemetopus as the sister group of the genus Protocruzia, both constituting early-divergent lineages that split first from a common ancestor of Intramacronucleta. Morphological and molecular evidence suggest that Copemetopus is neither a heterotrichean nor an armophorean ciliate, but a distinct clade related to Protocruzia.
Keywords: Ciliates; Intramacronucleata; Protocruzia; Ribosomal phylogeny; Ultrastructure.
Published by Elsevier GmbH.
Similar articles
-
Morphology and Molecular Phylogeny of Two Poorly Known Species of Protocruzia (Ciliophora: Protocruziida).J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2017 Mar;64(2):144-152. doi: 10.1111/jeu.12344. Epub 2016 Jul 28. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2017. PMID: 27375119
-
Redescription of the rare heterotrichid ciliate, Copemetopus subsalsus Villeneuve-Brachon, 1940.J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2001 Mar-Apr;48(2):188-93. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2001.tb00302.x. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2001. PMID: 12095107
-
Large-scale phylogenomic analysis reveals the phylogenetic position of the problematic taxon Protocruzia and unravels the deep phylogenetic affinities of the ciliate lineages.Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2014 Sep;78:36-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.04.020. Epub 2014 May 6. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2014. PMID: 24814356
-
Rumen ciliates (Alveolata, Ciliophora) associated with goats: checklist, geographic distribution, host specificity, phylogeny and molecular dating.Zootaxa. 2022 Jul 14;5165(2):191-216. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5165.2.3. Zootaxa. 2022. PMID: 36095472 Review.
-
Bacterial symbiosis in ciliates (Alveolata, Ciliophora): Roads traveled and those still to be taken.J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2022 Sep;69(5):e12886. doi: 10.1111/jeu.12886. Epub 2022 Jan 26. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2022. PMID: 35006645 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Ciliate diversity in rodrigo de freitas lagoon (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) from an integrative standpoint.Braz J Microbiol. 2024 Jun;55(2):1489-1505. doi: 10.1007/s42770-024-01291-4. Epub 2024 Feb 24. Braz J Microbiol. 2024. PMID: 38401009
-
Protist taxonomic and functional diversity in aquatic ecosystems of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.PeerJ. 2023 Aug 1;11:e15762. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15762. eCollection 2023. PeerJ. 2023. PMID: 37547721 Free PMC article.
-
Group-specific functional patterns of mitochondrion-related organelles shed light on their multiple transitions from mitochondria in ciliated protists.Mar Life Sci Technol. 2022 Nov 21;4(4):609-623. doi: 10.1007/s42995-022-00147-w. eCollection 2022 Nov. Mar Life Sci Technol. 2022. PMID: 37078085 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources