Phylogeny and classification of phylum Cercozoa (Protozoa)

Molecular phylogeny of Cercomonadidae and kinetid patterns of Cercomonas and Eocercomonas gen. nov. (Cercomonadida, Cercozoa)

Cercomonads are among the most abundant and widespread zooflagellates in soil and freshwater. We cultured 22 strains and report their complete 18S rRNA sequences and light microscopic morphology. Phylogenetic analysis of 51 Cercomonas rRNA genes shows in each previously identified major clade (A, B) two very robust, highly divergent, multi-species subclades (A1, A2; B1, B2). We studied kinetid ultrastructure of five clade A representatives by serial sections. All have two closely associated left ventral posterior microtubular roots, an anterior dorsal root, a microtubule-nucleating left anterior root, and a cone of microtubules passing to the nucleus. Anterior centrioles (=basal bodies, kinetosomes) of A1 have cartwheels; the posterior centriole does not, suggesting it is older, and implying flagellar transformation similar to other bikonts. Strain C-80 (subclade A2) differs greatly, having a dorsal posterior microtubule band, but lacking the A1-specific fibrillar striated root, nuclear extension to the centrioles, centriolar diaphragm, extrusomes; both mature centrioles lack cartwheels. For clade A2 we establish Eocercomonas gen. n., with type Eocercomonas ramosa sp. n., and for clade B1 Paracercomonas gen. n. (type Paracercomonas marina sp. n.). We establish Paracercomonas ekelundi sp. n. for culture SCCAP C1 and propose a Cercomonas longicauda neotype and Cercomonas (=Neocercomonas) jutlandica comb. n. and Paracercomonas (=Cercomonas) metabolica comb. n.

The extent of protist diversity: insights from molecular ecology of freshwater eukaryotes

Classical studies on protist diversity of freshwater environments worldwide have led to the idea that most species of microbial eukaryotes are known. One exemplary case would be constituted by the ciliates, which have been claimed to encompass a few thousands of ubiquitous species, most of them already described. Recently, molecular methods have revealed an unsuspected protist diversity, especially in oceanic as well as some extreme environments, suggesting the occurrence of a hidden diversity of eukaryotic lineages. In order to test if this holds also for freshwater environments, we have carried out a molecular survey of small subunit ribosomal RNA genes in water and sediment samples of two ponds, one oxic and another suboxic, from the same geographic area. Our results show that protist diversity is very high. The majority of phylotypes affiliated within a few well established eukaryotic kingdoms or phyla, including alveolates, cryptophytes, heterokonts, Cercozoa, Centroheliozoa and haptophytes, although a few sequences did not display a clear taxonomic affiliation. The diversity of sequences within groups was very large, particularly that of ciliates, and a number of them were very divergent from known species, which could define new intra-phylum groups. This suggests that, contrary to current ideas, the diversity of freshwater protists is far from being completely described.

Phylogeny and Megasystematics of Phagotrophic Heterokonts (Kingdom Chromista)

Heterokonts are evolutionarily important as the most nutritionally diverse eukaryote supergroup and the most species-rich branch of the eukaryotic kingdom Chromista. Ancestrally photosynthetic/phagotrophic algae (mixotrophs), they include several ecologically important purely heterotrophic lineages, all grossly understudied phylogenetically and of uncertain relationships. We sequenced 18S rRNA genes from 14 phagotrophic non-photosynthetic heterokonts and a probable Ochromonas, performed phylogenetic analysis of 210-430 Heterokonta, and revised higher classification of Heterokonta and its three phyla: the predominantly photosynthetic Ochrophyta; the non-photosynthetic Pseudofungi; and Bigyra (now comprising subphyla Opalozoa, Bicoecia, Sagenista). The deepest heterokont divergence is apparently between Bigyra, as revised here, and Ochrophyta/Pseudofungi. We found a third universal heterokont signature sequence, and deduce three independent losses of ciliary hairs, several of 1-2 cilia, 10 of photosynthesis, but perhaps only two plastid losses. In Ochrophyta, heterotrophic Oikomonas is sister to the photosynthetic Chrysamoeba, whilst the abundant freshwater predator Spumella is biphyletic; neither clade is specifically related to Paraphysomonas, indicating four losses of photosynthesis by chrysomonads. Sister to Chrysomonadea (Chrysophyceae) is Picophagea cl. nov. (Picophagus, Chlamydomyxa). The diatom-parasite Pirsonia belongs in Pseudofungi. Heliozoan-like actinophryids (e.g. Actinosphaerium) are Opalozoa, not related to pedinellids within Hypogyristea cl. nov. of Ochrophyta as once thought. The zooflagellate class Bicoecea (perhaps the ancestral phenotype of Bigyra) is unexpectedly diverse and a major focus of our study. We describe four new biciliate bicoecean genera and five new species: Nerada mexicana, Labromonas fenchelii (=Pseudobodo tremulans sensu Fenchel), Boroka karpovii (=P. tremulans sensu Karpov), Anoeca atlantica and Cafeteria mylnikovii; several cultures were previously misidentified as Pseudobodo tremulans. Nerada and the uniciliate Paramonas are related to Siluania and Adriamonas; this clade (Pseudodendromonadales emend.) is probably sister to Bicosoeca. Genetically diverse Caecitellus is probably related to Anoeca, Symbiomonas and Cafeteria (collectively Anoecales emend.). Boroka is sister to Pseudodendromonadales/Bicoecales/Anoecales. Placidiales are probably divergent bicoeceans (the GenBank Placidia sequence is a basidiomycete/heterokont chimaera). Two GenBank 'opalinid' sequences are fungal; Pseudopirsonia is cercozoan; two previous GenBank 'Caecitellus' sequences are Adriamonas.

The new higher level classification of eukaryotes with emphasis on the taxonomy of protists

This revision of the classification of unicellular eukaryotes updates that of Levine et al. (1980) for the protozoa and expands it to include other protists. Whereas the previous revision was primarily to incorporate the results of ultrastructural studies, this revision incorporates results from both ultrastructural research since 1980 and molecular phylogenetic studies. We propose a scheme that is based on nameless ranked systematics. The vocabulary of the taxonomy is updated, particularly to clarify the naming of groups that have been repositioned. We recognize six clusters of eukaryotes that may represent the basic groupings similar to traditional "kingdoms." The multicellular lineages emerged from within monophyletic protist lineages: animals and fungi from Opisthokonta, plants from Archaeplastida, and brown algae from Stramenopiles.

A close relationship between Cercozoa and Foraminifera supported by phylogenetic analyses based on combined amino acid sequences of three cytoskeletal proteins (actin, α-tubulin, and β-tubulin)

Recently, there has been increasing molecular evidence of phylogenetic affinity between Cercozoa and Foraminifera in the eukaryotic lineage. We performed phylogenetic analyses based on the combined (concatenated) amino acid sequence data of actin, alpha-tubulin, and beta-tubulin from a wide variety of eukaryotes, including the foraminifers Planoglabratella opercularis and Reticulomyxa filosa, as well as cercomonad and chlorarachniophyte members of Cercozoa. A monophyletic lineage composed of two foraminiferan species branched with the centroheliozoan species Raphidiophrys contractilis was reconstructed in both Bayesian and maximum-likelihood (ML) analyses under 'linked' models, enforcing a single set of the parameters (the parameter for among-site rate variation and branch lengths) on the entire combined alignment. Considering the extremely divergent nature of Foraminifera and Raphidiophyrs tubulins, the union of these lineages recovered is most probably a long-branch attraction artifact due to ignoring gene-specific evolutionary processes. On the other hand, the foraminiferan lineage was within the radiation of Cercozoa in Bayesian analyses under 'unlinked' model conditions, accommodating differences in evolutionary processes across the three genes in the combined alignment. The Foraminifera+Cercozoa affinity recovered in the latter multi-gene analyses is most likely genuine, and thus our data presented here provide further support for the close relationship between these two protist lineages.

Phylogeny of the Centrohelida inferred from SSU rRNA, tubulins, and actin genes

Amoeboid protists are major targets of recent molecular phylogeny in connection with reconstruction of global phylogeny of eukaryotes as well as the search for the root of eukaryotes. The Centrohelida are one of the major groups of Heliozoa, classified in the Actinopodida, whose evolutionary position is not well understood. To clarify the relationships between the Centrohelida and other eukaryotes, we sequenced SSU rRNA, alpha-tubulin, and beta-tubulin genes from a centroheliozoan protist, Raphidiophrys contractilis. The SSU rRNA phylogeny showed that the Centrohelida are not closely related to other heliozoan groups, Actinophryida, Desmothoracida, or Taxopodida. Maximum likelihood analyses of the combined phylogeny using a concatenate model for an alpha- + beta-tubulin + actin data set, and a separate model for SSU rRNA, alpha- and beta-tubulin, and actin gene data sets revealed the best tree, in which the Centrohelida have a closer relationship to Rhodophyta than to other major eukaryotic groups. However, both weighted Shimodaira-Hasegawa and approximately unbiased tests for the concatenate protein phylogeny did not reject alternative trees in which Centrohelida were constrained to be sisters to the Amoebozoa. Moreover, alternative trees in which Centrohelida were placed at the node branching before and after Amoebozoa or Viridiplantae were not rejected by the WSH tests. These results narrowed the possibilities for the position of Centrohelida to a sister to the Rhodophyta, to the Amoebozoa, or to an independent branch between the branchings of Amoebozoa and Rhodophyta (or possibly Plantae) at the basal position within the bikonts clade in the eukaryotic tree.

Aurigamonas solis n. gen., n. sp., a soil-dwelling predator with unusual helioflagellate organisation and belonging to a novel clade within the Cercozoa

A flagellate predator, Aurigamonas solis n. gen., n. sp., with numerous radiating axopodia-like appendages, has been isolated in culture from soils. Despite its heliozoan-like appearance, Aurigamonas is not a sit-and-wait predator but a mobile hunter and its stiff appendages are not microtubule-supported axopodia but elongate haptopodia, each supported by a cylindrical core of microfilaments and bearing at its capitate tip a single extrusome-like body (haptosome). Prey flagellates are trapped on the sticky tips of the haptopodia and a large funnel-shaped pseudopodium then emerges to engulf the prey or suck out part of it for internal digestion. Pseudopodial contact is accompanied by killing, possibly as a result of the injection of spicules by the predator. Cytoplasmic haptosomes appear to induce formation of a haptopodium on making contact with the plasma membrane. Propulsion of the organism along the substratum is effected by beating of a long trailing flagellum, the short and inconspicuous second flagellum lacks motility. Small subunit rDNA sequencing shows that Aurigamonas arose within the Cercozoa. Its closest relatives are Cercobodo agilis and several flagellates currently known only as environmental sequences. This conclusion is supported further by the presence of only a single amino acid insertion in the polyubiquitin sequence of Aurigamonas solis.

Myosin domain evolution and the primary divergence of eukaryotes

Eukaryotic cells have two contrasting cytoskeletal and ciliary organizations. The simplest involves a single cilium-bearing centriole, nucleating a cone of individual microtubules (probably ancestral for unikonts: animals, fungi, Choanozoa and Amoebozoa). In contrast, bikonts (plants, chromists and all other protozoa) were ancestrally biciliate with a younger anterior cilium, converted every cell cycle into a dissimilar posterior cilium and multiple ciliary roots of microtubule bands. Here we show by comparative genomic analysis that this fundamental cellular dichotomy also involves different myosin molecular motors. We found 37 different protein domain combinations, often lineage-specific, and many previously unidentified. The sequence phylogeny and taxonomic distribution of myosin domain combinations identified five innovations that strongly support unikont monophyly and the primary bikont/unikont bifurcation. We conclude that the eukaryotic cenancestor (last common ancestor) had a cilium, mitochondria, pseudopodia, and myosins with three contrasting domain combinations and putative functions.

The molecular diversity of freshwater picoeukaryotes from an oligotrophic lake reveals diverse, distinctive and globally dispersed lineages

The recent discovery of a diverse phylogenetic assemblage of picoeukaryotes from environments such as oceans, salt marshes and acidic habitats, has expanded the debates about the extent and origin of microbial eukaryotes. However, the diversity of these eukaryote microorganisms, that overlap bacteria in size, and their environmental and biogeographical ubiquity remains poorly understood. Here we survey picoeukaryotes (microbial eukaryotes of 0.2-5 microm in size) from an oligotrophic (nutrient deficient) freshwater habitat using ribosomal RNA gene sequences. Three taxonomic groups the Heterokonta, Cryptomonads and the Alveolata dominated the detected diversity. Most sequences represented previously unsampled species, with several being unassignable to known taxonomic groups and plausibly represent new or unsampled phyla. Many freshwater phylogenetic groups identified in this study appeared unrelated to picoeukaryotic sequences identified in marine ecosystems, suggesting that aspects of eukaryote microbial diversity are specific to certain aquatic environments. Conversely, at least five phylogenetic clusters comprised sequences from freshwater and globally dispersed and often contrasting environments, supporting the concept that a number of picoeukaryotic lineages are widely distributed.

The Second Species of Gromia (Protista) from the Deep Sea: its Natural History and Association with the Pakistan Margin Oxygen Minimum Zone

We describe a gromiid protist Gromia pyriformis sp. nov., from bathyal depths on the Pakistan margin (NE Arabian Sea), an area characterised by a well-developed Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). The new species is smaller (length usually <1 mm) than the only other described deep-sea gromiid species (Gromia sphaerica) or the well-known coastal species Gromia oviformis. Its identification as a gromiid is based on the test-wall ultrastructure. This includes (i) an outer wall (165-300 nm thick) limited by an electron-opaque layer and perforated by pore structures which typically extend through its entire thickness, and (ii) inner "honeycomb membrane" structures which form a discontinuous sheet (18-20 nm thick) lying parallel to the outer wall. An outermost glycocalyx (approximately 75 nm thick), not observed in other gromiid species, is also present and imparts a finely granular appearance to the outer test surface, as seen by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Numerous rod-shaped prokaryotes are attached to the exterior of the glycocalyx. Gromia pyriformis sp. nov. typically occurs above the sediment-water interface, attached to the large arborescent foraminiferan Pelosina sp. It is confined to a very narrow bathymetric zone (approximately 1000 m water depth) in the lower portion of the OMZ, where bottom-water oxygen concentrations are approximately 0.2 ml l(-1).

Genetic diversity of microbial eukaryotes in anoxic sediment around fumaroles on a submarine caldera floor based on the small-subunit rDNA phylogeny

Recent culture-independent molecular analyses have shown the diversity and ecological importance of microbial eukaryotes (protists) in various marine environments. In the present study we directly extracted DNA from anoxic sediment near active fumaroles on a submarine caldera floor at a depth of 200 m and constructed genetic libraries of PCR-amplified eukaryotic small-subunit (SSU) rDNA. By sequencing cloned SSU rDNA of the libraries and their phylogenetic analyses, it was shown that most sequences have affiliations with known major lineages of eukaryotes (Cercozoa, Alveolata, stramenopiles and Opisthokonta). In particular, some sequences were closely related to those of representatives of eukaryotic parasites, such as Phagomyxa and Cryothecomonas of Cercozoa, Pirsonia of stramenopiles and Ichthyosporea of Opisthokonta, although it is not clear whether the organisms occur in free-living or parasitic forms. In addition, other sequences did not seem to be related to any described eukaryotic lineages suggesting the existence of novel eukaryotes at a high-taxonomic level in the sediment. The community composition of microbial eukaryotes in the sediment we surveyed was different overall from those of other anoxic marine environments previously investigated.

Mitochondria of Protists

Over the past several decades, our knowledge of the origin and evolution of mitochondria has been greatly advanced by determination of complete mitochondrial genome sequences. Among the most informative mitochondrial genomes have been those of protists (primarily unicellular eukaryotes), some of which harbor the most gene-rich and most eubacteria-like mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) known. Comparison of mtDNA sequence data has provided insights into the radically diverse trends in mitochondrial genome evolution exhibited by different phylogenetically coherent groupings of eukaryotes, and has allowed us to pinpoint specific protist relatives of the multicellular eukaryotic lineages (animals, plants, and fungi). This comparative genomics approach has also revealed unique and fascinating aspects of mitochondrial gene expression, highlighting the mitochondrion as an evolutionary playground par excellence.

Phylum-specific environmental DNA analysis reveals remarkably high global biodiversity of Cercozoa (Protozoa)

This study presents the first 18S rRNA multi-library environmental PCR survey of a single protozoan phylum, Cercozoa Cavalier-Smith 1998, from a range of different habitats. Phylogenetic analysis reveals at least nine novel clades within the phylum, several possibly at the level of order or above. Further experiments are described to ascertain the true ecological and geographical distributions of some clades that might be inferred from the tree to be restricted in either or both ways. These results suggest that the diversity of cercozoan taxa may run into thousands of lineages, making it comparable in diversity to the largest better-characterized protozoan phyla, e.g. Ciliophora (ciliates and suctorians) and Foraminifera. New sequences of cultured Spongomonas, Metromonas and Metopion are also presented. In the light of these additions, and the increased taxon sampling from the environmental libraries, some revisions of cercozoan classification are made: the transfer of Spongomonadea from Reticulofilosa to Monadofilosa; the removal of Metopiida from Sarcomonadea; and the creation of the new order Metromonadida, currently containing the single genus Metromonas. Although Metromonas groups with weak to moderate support with Chlorarachnea, it is here placed in superclass Monadofilosa, to which it is morphologically more similar.

Root of the Eukaryota Tree as Inferred from Combined Maximum Likelihood Analyses of Multiple Molecular Sequence Data

Extensive studies aiming to establish the structure and root of the Eukaryota tree by phylogenetic analyses of molecular sequences have thus far not resulted in a generally accepted tree. To re-examine the eukaryotic phylogeny using alternative genes, and to obtain a more robust inference for the root of the tree as well as the relationship among major eukaryotic groups, we sequenced the genes encoding isoleucyl-tRNA and valyl-tRNA synthetases, cytosolic-type heat shock protein 90, and the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II from several protists. Combined maximum likelihood analyses of 22 protein-coding genes including the above four genes clearly demonstrated that Diplomonadida and Parabasala shared a common ancestor in the rooted tree of Eukaryota, but only when the fast-evolving sites were excluded from the original data sets. The combined analyses, together with recent findings on the distribution of a fused dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthetase gene, narrowed the possible position of the root of the Eukaryota tree on the branch leading to Opisthokonta or to the common ancestor of Diplomonadida/Parabasala. However, the analyses did not agree with the position of the root located on the common ancestor of Opisthokonta and Amoebozoa, which was argued by Stechmann and Cavalier-Smith [Curr. Biol. 13:R665-666, 2003] based on the presence or absence of a three-gene fusion of the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway: carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase II, dihydroorotase, and aspartate carbamoyltransferase. The presence of the three-gene fusion recently found in the Cyanidioschyzon merolae (Rhodophyta) genome sequence data supported our analyses against the Stechmann and Cavalier-Smith-rooting in 2003.

Diversity and evolutionary history of plastids and their hosts

By synthesizing data from individual gene phylogenies, large concatenated gene trees, and other kinds of molecular, morphological, and biochemical markers, we begin to see the broad outlines of a global phylogenetic tree of eukaryotes. This tree is apparently composed of five large assemblages, or "supergroups." Plants and algae, or more generally eukaryotes with plastids (the photosynthetic organelle of plants and algae and their nonphotosynthetic derivatives) are scattered among four of the five supergroups. This is because plastids have had a complex evolutionary history involving several endosymbiotic events that have led to their transmission from one group to another. Here, the history of the plastid and of its various hosts is reviewed with particular attention to the number and nature of the endosymbiotic events that led to the current distribution of plastids. There is accumulating evidence to support a single primary origin of plastids from a cyanobacterium (with one intriguing possible exception in the little-studied amoeba Paulinella), followed by the diversification of glaucophytes, red and green algae, with plants evolving from green algae. Following this, some of these algae were themselves involved in secondary endosymbiotic events. The best current evidence indicates that two independent secondary endosymbioses involving green algae gave rise to euglenids and chlorarachniophytes, whereas a single endosymbiosis with a red algae gave rise to the chromalveolates, a diverse group including cryptomonads, haptophytes, heterokonts, and alveolates. Dinoflagellates (alveolates) have since taken up other algae in serial secondary and tertiary endosymbioses, raising a number of controversies over the origin of their plastids, and by extension, the recently discovered cryptic plastid of the closely related apicomplexan parasites.

Only six kingdoms of life

There are many more phyla of microbes than of macro-organisms, but microbial biodiversity is poorly understood because most microbes are uncultured. Phylogenetic analysis of rDNA sequences cloned after PCR amplification of DNA extracted directly from environmental samples is a powerful way of exploring our degree of ignorance of major groups. As there are only five eukaryotic kingdoms, two claims using such methods for numerous novel 'kingdom-level' lineages among anaerobic eukaryotes would be remarkable, if true. By reanalysing those data with 167 known species (not merely 8-37), I identified relatives for all 8-10 'mysterious' lineages. All probably belong to one of five already recognized phyla (Amoebozoa, Cercozoa, Apusozoa, Myzozoa, Loukozoa) within the basal kingdom Protozoa, mostly in known classes, sometimes even in known orders, families or genera. This strengthens the idea that the ancestral eukaryote was a mitochondrial aerobe. Analogous claims of novel bacterial divisions or kingdoms may reflect the weak resolution and grossly non-clock-like evolution of ribosomal rRNA, not genuine phylum-level biological disparity. Critical interpretation of environmental DNA sequences suggests that our overall picture of microbial biodiversity at phylum or division level is already rather good and comprehensive and that there are no uncharacterized kingdoms of life. However, immense lower-level diversity remains to be mapped, as does the root of the tree of life.

The twilight of Heliozoa and rise of Rhizaria, an emerging supergroup of amoeboid eukaryotes

Recent molecular phylogenetic studies revealed the extraordinary diversity of single-celled eukaryotes. However, the proper assessment of this diversity and accurate reconstruction of the eukaryote phylogeny are still impeded by the lack of molecular data for some major groups of easily identifiable and cultivable protists. Among them, amoeboid eukaryotes have been notably absent from molecular phylogenies, despite their diversity, complexity, and abundance. To partly fill this phylogenetic gap, we present here combined small-subunit ribosomal RNA and actin sequence data for the three main groups of "Heliozoa" (Actinophryida, Centrohelida, and Desmothoracida), the heliozoan-like Sticholonche, and the radiolarian group Polycystinea. Phylogenetic analyses of our sequences demonstrate the polyphyly of heliozoans, which branch either as an independent eukaryotic lineage (Centrohelida), within stramenopiles (Actinophryida), or among cercozoans (Desmothoracida), in broad agreement with previous ultrastructure-based studies. Our data also provide solid evidence for the existence of the Rhizaria, an emerging supergroup of mainly amoeboid eukaryotes that includes desmothoracid heliozoans, all radiolarians, Sticholonche, and foraminiferans, as well as various filose and reticulose amoebae and some flagellates.

Actin and Ubiquitin Protein Sequences Support a Cercozoan/Foraminiferan Ancestry for the Plasmodiophorid Plant Pathogens

The plasmodiophorids are a group of eukaryotic intracellular parasites that cause disease in a variety of economically significant crops. Plasmodiophorids have traditionally been considered fungi but have more recently been suggested to be members of the Cercozoa, a morphologically diverse group of amoeboid, flagellate, and amoeboflagellate protists. The recognition that Cercozoa constitute a monophyletic lineage has come from phylogenetic analyses of small subunit ribosomal RNA genes. Protein sequence data have suggested that the closest relatives of Cercozoa are the Foraminifera. To further test a cercozoan origin for the plasmodiophorids, we isolated actin genes from Plasmodiophora brassicae, Sorosphaera veronicae, and Spongospora subterranea, and polyubiquitin gene fragments from P. brassicae and S. subterranea. We also isolated actin genes from the chlorarachniophyte Lotharella globosa. In protein phylogenies of actin, the plasmodiophorid sequences consistently branch with Cercozoa and Foraminifera, and weakly branch as the sister group to the foraminiferans. The plasmodiophorid polyubiquitin sequences contain a single amino acid residue insertion at the functionally important processing point between ubiquitin monomers, the same place in which an otherwise unique insertion exists in the cercozoan and foraminiferan proteins. Taken together, these results indicate that plasmodiophorids are indeed related to Cercozoa and Foraminifera, although the relationships amongst these groups remain unresolved.