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Micractinium tetrahymenae (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), a new endosymbiont isolated from ciliates


Pröschold, Thomas; Pitsch, Gianna; Darienko, Tatyana (2020). Micractinium tetrahymenae (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), a new endosymbiont isolated from ciliates. Diversity, 12:200.

Abstract

Endosymbiosis between coccoid green algae and ciliates are widely distributed and occur in various phylogenetic lineages among the Ciliophora. Most mixotrophic ciliates live in symbiosis with different species and genera of the so-called Chlorella clade (Trebouxiophyceae). The mixotrophic ciliates can be differentiated into two groups: (i) obligate, which always live in symbiosis with such green algae and are rarely algae-free and (ii) facultative, which formed under certain circumstances such as in anoxic environments an association with algae. A case of the facultative endosymbiosis is found in the recently described species of Tetrahymena, T. utriculariae, which lives in the bladder traps of the carnivorous aquatic plant Utricularia reflexa. The green endosymbiont of this ciliate belonged to the genus Micractinium. We characterized the isolated algal strain using an integrative approach and compared it to all described species of this genus. The phylogenetic analyses using complex evolutionary secondary structure-based models revealed that this endosymbiont represents a new species of Micractinium, M. tetrahymenae sp. nov., which was further confirmed by the ITS2/CBC approach.

Abstract

Endosymbiosis between coccoid green algae and ciliates are widely distributed and occur in various phylogenetic lineages among the Ciliophora. Most mixotrophic ciliates live in symbiosis with different species and genera of the so-called Chlorella clade (Trebouxiophyceae). The mixotrophic ciliates can be differentiated into two groups: (i) obligate, which always live in symbiosis with such green algae and are rarely algae-free and (ii) facultative, which formed under certain circumstances such as in anoxic environments an association with algae. A case of the facultative endosymbiosis is found in the recently described species of Tetrahymena, T. utriculariae, which lives in the bladder traps of the carnivorous aquatic plant Utricularia reflexa. The green endosymbiont of this ciliate belonged to the genus Micractinium. We characterized the isolated algal strain using an integrative approach and compared it to all described species of this genus. The phylogenetic analyses using complex evolutionary secondary structure-based models revealed that this endosymbiont represents a new species of Micractinium, M. tetrahymenae sp. nov., which was further confirmed by the ITS2/CBC approach.

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Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:07 Faculty of Science > Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
07 Faculty of Science > Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center
Dewey Decimal Classification:580 Plants (Botany)
Scopus Subject Areas:Physical Sciences > Ecology
Physical Sciences > Ecological Modeling
Life Sciences > Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
Physical Sciences > Nature and Landscape Conservation
Uncontrolled Keywords:Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous), Ecological Modelling, Ecology, Nature and Landscape Conservation
Language:English
Date:15 May 2020
Deposited On:29 Jan 2021 11:09
Last Modified:25 Sep 2023 01:44
Publisher:MDPI Publishing
ISSN:1424-2818
OA Status:Gold
Free access at:Publisher DOI. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/d12050200
  • Content: Published Version
  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)