1
|
Temperature-dependent resistance to starvation of three contrasting freshwater ciliates. Eur J Protistol 2023; 88:125973. [PMID: 36989877 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2023.125973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the temperature-dependent response to starvation of three contrasting freshwater ciliates (Ciliophora). The cyst-forming algivorous species Meseres corlissi and the bactivorous species Glaucomides bromelicola, which cannot form cysts, co-occur in the reservoirs (tanks) of tree bromeliads. The mixotrophic species Coleps spetai is common in many lakes. We hypothesized that the ciliates' different traits and life strategies would affect their survival rates and temperature sensitivity under food depleted conditions. We measured the decline of the ciliate populations in microcosm experiments at different temperatures for several days. We used an imaging flow cytometer to size the ciliates and documented their morphological and physiological changes in response to starvation. We found that the cyst-forming species had the highest mortality rates but may endure long-term starvation by encystment. The sympatric, non-encysting species suffered the lowest mortality rates and could survive for more than three weeks without food. The mixotrophic species had intermediate mortality rates but showed the highest phenotypic plasticity in response to starvation. A significant fraction of the C. spetai population appeared unaffected by starvation, suggesting that the endosymbionts provided some resources to the host cells. The mean mortality rate per day of all three species increased with temperature by 0.09 °C-1.
Collapse
|
2
|
Li B, Song Y, Hao T, Wang L, Zheng W, lyu Z, Chen Y, Pan X. Insights into the phylogeny of the ciliate of class Colpodea based on multigene data. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9380. [PMID: 36304093 PMCID: PMC9595136 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In the class Colpodea, there are many unresolved evolutionary relationships among taxa. Here, we report 30 new sequences including SSU-rRNA, ITS1-5.8S- ITS2 rRNA, and the mitochondrial small subunit ribosomal RNA (mtSSU-rRNA) genes of five colpodeans, and conduct phylogenetic analyses based on each individual gene and a two-gene concatenated dataset. For the first time, multi-genes were used to analyze phylogenetic relationships in the class Colpodea. The main findings are: (1) SSU-rRNA, ITS1-5.8S- ITS2 rRNA, and mtSSU-rRNA gene sequences of C. reniformis and C. grandis are provided for the first time, and these two species group into the clade including C. inflata, C. lucida, C. cucullus, and C. henneguyi; (2) clustering pattern and morphological similarity indicate that Bresslauides discoideus has a close relation with Colpodidae spp.; (3) Emarginatophrya genus diagnosis is improved to be 'Hausmanniellidae with sharply shortened and isometric leftmost 1-4 ciliary rows' and Colpoda elliotti is transferred to Emarginatophrya; (4) the genus Colpoda is still non-monophyletic with the addition of 10 populations from five Colpoda species sequences, but there are only two Colpoda groups left based on the present work: Group I comprises C. inflata, C. lucida, C. cucullus, C. henneguyi, C. reniformis, and C. grandis, Group II comprises C. maupasi and C. ecaudata, and the presence of diagonal grooves and the way the vestibular opens might be the two key features that differentiates Colpoda species groups; (5) a close molecular relationship, and highly similar merotelokinetal mode, somatic ciliary pattern, and basic organization of the oral apparatus with P. steinii suggests Bromeliothrix metopoides should be temporarily assigned to Colpodidae.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bailin Li
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity of Aquatic OrganismsHarbin Normal University HarbinHarbinP. R. China
| | - Yumeng Song
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity of Aquatic OrganismsHarbin Normal University HarbinHarbinP. R. China
| | - Tingting Hao
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity of Aquatic OrganismsHarbin Normal University HarbinHarbinP. R. China
| | - Li Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity of Aquatic OrganismsHarbin Normal University HarbinHarbinP. R. China
| | - Weibin Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity of Aquatic OrganismsHarbin Normal University HarbinHarbinP. R. China
| | - Zhao lyu
- College of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Ying Chen
- School of Civil and Environmental EngineeringHarbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)ShenzhenChina
| | - Xuming Pan
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity of Aquatic OrganismsHarbin Normal University HarbinHarbinP. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Fernandes NM, Campello-Nunes PH, Paiva TS, Soares CAG, Silva-Neto ID. Ciliate Diversity From Aquatic Environments in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest as Revealed by High-Throughput DNA Sequencing. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2021; 81:630-643. [PMID: 33025060 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-020-01612-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Rainforest aquatic ecosystems include complex habitats with scarce information on their unicellular eukaryote diversity and community structure. We have investigated the diversity of ciliates in freshwater and brackish environments along the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, based on the hypervariable V4 region of the 18S-rDNA obtained by high-throughput DNA sequencing. Our analyses detected 409 ciliate taxonomic units (OTUs), mostly attributed to the classes Oligohymenophorea and Spirotrichea. A total of 11 classes, 12 subclasses, 112 genera, and 144 species were reported. We found the following: (a) the ciliate communities are more diverse in freshwater- than in Atlantic Forest-associated brackish environments; (b) the ciliate communities are composed by a small amount of highly abundant OTUs, but a high number of low-abundant or rare OTUs; (c) nearly one-third of the ciliate OTUs share less than 97% sequence identity to reference sequences and (d) phylogenetic inference supports the hypothesis that the V4 region of the Ciliophora 18S-rDNA is a suitable marker for accurate evolutionary inferences at class level. Our results showed that a considerable fraction of the HTS-detected diversity of ciliates from Brazilian Atlantic Forest is not represented in the currently available molecular databases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noemi M Fernandes
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-617, Brazil.
| | - Pedro H Campello-Nunes
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-617, Brazil
| | - Thiago S Paiva
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-617, Brazil
| | - Carlos A G Soares
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-617, Brazil
| | - Inácio D Silva-Neto
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-617, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Weisse T. Wilhelm Foissner and the European Journal of Protistology. Eur J Protistol 2020; 76:125739. [PMID: 32890854 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2020.125739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Weisse
- University of Innsbruck, Research Department for Limnology, Mondsee, Austria.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Cavaleiro J, Oliveira NB, Ribeiro TA, Guimarães LF, Fernandes NM, da Silva-Neto ID, Marszaukowski F, Wohnrath K, Barreto CB, Schweikert M, Petroni G, Ortenzi C, Buonanno F, Picciani PHS, Oliveira ON, Soares CAG. Distinguishing Activities in the Photodynamic Arsenals of the Pigmented Ciliates Blepharisma sinuosum Sawaya, 1940 and Blepharisma japonicum Suzuki, 1954 (Ciliophora: Heterotrichea). Photochem Photobiol 2020; 96:1251-1266. [PMID: 32472704 DOI: 10.1111/php.13288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Blepharismins are photodynamic hypericin-like dianthrones produced as a variable pigment blend in Blepharisma ciliates and mostly studied in the Afro-Asiatic Blepharisma japonicum. The present work describes the bioactivity of pigments from the Brazilian Blepharisma sinuosum. Comparative analyses showed that the pigments from both species can trigger photo-induced modifications in phospholipids, but different redox properties and biological activities were assigned for each pigment blend. Stronger activities were detected for B. sinuosum pigments, with the lethal concentration LC50 10 × lower than B. japonicum pigments in light-irradiated tests against Bacillus cereus and less than half for treatments on the human HeLa tumor cells. HPLC showed B. sinuosum producing a simpler pigment blend, mostly with the blepharismin-C (~ 70%) and blepharismin-E (~ 30%) types. Each blepharismin engaged a specific dose-response profile on sensitive cells. The blepharismin-B and blepharismin-C were the most toxic pigments, showing LC50 ~ 2.5-3.0 µm and ~ 100 µm on B. cereus and HeLa cells, respectively, after illumination. Similarity clustering analysis compiling the bioactivity data revealed two groups of blepharismins: the most active, B and C, and the less active, A, D and E. The B. sinuosum pigment blend includes one representative of each clade. Functional and medical implications are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jéssica Cavaleiro
- Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Biofunctional Nanodevices Development Group, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Nathally B Oliveira
- Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Biofunctional Nanodevices Development Group, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Talita A Ribeiro
- Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Biofunctional Nanodevices Development Group, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Lohaine F Guimarães
- Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Biofunctional Nanodevices Development Group, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Noemi M Fernandes
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Inácio D da Silva-Neto
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Flávia Marszaukowski
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, UEPG, Ponta Grossa, Brazil
| | - Karen Wohnrath
- Departamento de Química, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, UEPG, Ponta Grossa, Brazil
| | - Cleber B Barreto
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro, IFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Michael Schweikert
- Institute for Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Department of Biobased Materials, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Giulio Petroni
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Unità di Protistologia, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudio Ortenzi
- Dipartimento di SFBCT, Laboratorio di Protistologia e Didattica della Biologia, Università di Macerata, UNIMC, Macerata, Italy
| | - Federico Buonanno
- Dipartimento di SFBCT, Laboratorio di Protistologia e Didattica della Biologia, Università di Macerata, UNIMC, Macerata, Italy
| | - Paulo H S Picciani
- Biofunctional Nanodevices Development Group, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Instituto de Macromoléculas Eloisa Mano, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Osvaldo N Oliveira
- Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, USP, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carlos Augusto G Soares
- Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Biofunctional Nanodevices Development Group, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Busse A, Schoreisz JJ, Petermann JS. Predators and priority effects suggested as potential drivers of microfauna communities in a community transplantation experiment along an elevational gradient. OIKOS 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Annika Busse
- Dept of Biosciences, Univ. of Salzburg Hellbrunner Straße 34, AT‐5020 Salzburg Austria
- Berlin‐Brandenburg Inst. of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany. – J. J. Schoreisz, Inst. of Biology, Freie Univ. Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Jeremias J. Schoreisz
- Berlin‐Brandenburg Inst. of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany. – J. J. Schoreisz, Inst. of Biology, Freie Univ. Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Jana S. Petermann
- Dept of Biosciences, Univ. of Salzburg Hellbrunner Straße 34, AT‐5020 Salzburg Austria
- Berlin‐Brandenburg Inst. of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany. – J. J. Schoreisz, Inst. of Biology, Freie Univ. Berlin Berlin Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Ladino G, Ospina‐Bautista F, Estévez Varón J, Jerabkova L, Kratina P. Ecosystem services provided by bromeliad plants: A systematic review. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:7360-7372. [PMID: 31380056 PMCID: PMC6662323 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2018] [Revised: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The unprecedented loss of biological diversity has negative impacts on ecosystems and the associated benefits which they provide to humans. Bromeliads have high diversity throughout the Neotropics, but they have been negatively affected by habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, invasive species, and commercialization for ornamental purpose. These plants provide direct benefits to the human society, and they also form microecosystems in which accumulated water and nutrients support the communities of aquatic and terrestrial species, thus maintaining local diversity. We performed a systematic review of the contribution of bromeliads to ecosystem services across their native geographical distribution. We showed that bromeliads provide a range of ecosystem services such as maintenance of biodiversity, community structure, nutrient cycling, and the provisioning of food and water. Moreover, bromeliads can regulate the spread of diseases, and water and carbon cycling, and they have the potential to become important sources of chemical and pharmaceutical products. The majority of this research was performed in Brazil, but future research from other Neotropical countries with a high diversity of bromeliads would fill the current knowledge gaps and increase the generality of these findings. This systematic review identified that future research should focus on provisioning, regulating, and cultural services that have been currently overlooked. This would enhance our understanding of how bromeliad diversity contributes to human welfare, and the negative consequences that loss of bromeliad plants can have on communities of other species and the healthy functioning of the entire ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Geraldine Ladino
- Departamento de Ciencias BiológicasUniversidad de CaldasManizalesColombia
| | | | | | | | - Pavel Kratina
- School of Biological and Chemical SciencesQueen Mary University of LondonLondonUK
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Busse A, Antiqueira PAP, Neutzling AS, Wolf AM, Romero GQ, Petermann JS. Different in the dark: The effect of habitat characteristics on community composition and beta diversity in bromeliad microfauna. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0191426. [PMID: 29401522 PMCID: PMC5798767 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms which structure communities have been the focus of a large body of research. Here, we address the question if habitat characteristics describing habitat quality may drive changes in community composition and beta diversity of bromeliad-inhabiting microfauna. In our system, changes in canopy cover along an environmental gradient may affect resource availability, disturbance in form of daily water temperature fluctuations and predation, and thus may lead to changes in community structure of bromeliad microfauna through differences in habitat quality along this gradient. Indeed, we observed distinct changes in microfauna community composition along the environmental gradient explained by changes in the extent of daily water temperature fluctuations. We found beta diversity to be higher under low habitat quality (low canopy cover) than under high habitat quality (high canopy cover), which could potentially be explained by a higher relative importance of stochastic processes under low habitat quality. We also partitioned beta diversity into turnover and nestedness components and we found a nested pattern of beta diversity along the environmental gradient, with communities from the lower-quality habitat being nested subsets of communities from the higher-quality habitat. However, this pattern resulted from an increase in microfauna alpha diversity with an increase in habitat quality. By providing insights into microfauna-environment relationships our results contribute to the mechanistic understanding of community dynamics in small freshwater bodies. Here, we highlight the importance of habitat characteristics representing habitat quality in structuring communities, and suggest that this information may help to improve conservation practices of small freshwater ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Annika Busse
- Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Pablo A. P. Antiqueira
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil
- Multitrophic Interactions and Biodiversity Lab, Department of Animal Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil
| | - Alexandre S. Neutzling
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil
| | - Anna M. Wolf
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gustavo Q. Romero
- Multitrophic Interactions and Biodiversity Lab, Department of Animal Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil
| | - Jana S. Petermann
- Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
|
10
|
Pasulka AL, Levin LA, Steele JA, Case DH, Landry MR, Orphan VJ. Microbial eukaryotic distributions and diversity patterns in a deep-sea methane seep ecosystem. Environ Microbiol 2016; 18:3022-43. [PMID: 26663587 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.13185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2015] [Revised: 12/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Although chemosynthetic ecosystems are known to support diverse assemblages of microorganisms, the ecological and environmental factors that structure microbial eukaryotes (heterotrophic protists and fungi) are poorly characterized. In this study, we examined the geographic, geochemical and ecological factors that influence microbial eukaryotic composition and distribution patterns within Hydrate Ridge, a methane seep ecosystem off the coast of Oregon using a combination of high-throughput 18S rRNA tag sequencing, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting, and cloning and sequencing of full-length 18S rRNA genes. Microbial eukaryotic composition and diversity varied as a function of substrate (carbonate versus sediment), activity (low activity versus active seep sites), sulfide concentration, and region (North versus South Hydrate Ridge). Sulfide concentration was correlated with changes in microbial eukaryotic composition and richness. This work also revealed the influence of oxygen content in the overlying water column and water depth on microbial eukaryotic composition and diversity, and identified distinct patterns from those previously observed for bacteria, archaea and macrofauna in methane seep ecosystems. Characterizing the structure of microbial eukaryotic communities in response to environmental variability is a key step towards understanding if and how microbial eukaryotes influence seep ecosystem structure and function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexis L Pasulka
- Integrative Oceanography Division and Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. .,Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Lisa A Levin
- Integrative Oceanography Division and Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Josh A Steele
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.,Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
| | - David H Case
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Michael R Landry
- Integrative Oceanography Division and Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Victoria J Orphan
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Buosi PRB, Utz LRP, de Meira BR, da Silva BTS, Lansac-Tôha FM, Lansac-Tôha FA, Velho LFM. Rainfall influence on species composition of the ciliate community inhabiting bromeliad phytotelmata. Zool Stud 2014. [DOI: 10.1186/s40555-014-0032-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|
12
|
Foissner W, Bourland WA, Wolf KW, Stoeck T, Dunthorn M. New SSU-rDNA sequences for eleven colpodeans (Ciliophora, Colpodea) and description of Apocyrtolophosis nov. gen. Eur J Protistol 2014; 50:40-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2013.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2013] [Revised: 09/16/2013] [Accepted: 09/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
13
|
Weisse T, Scheffel U, Stadler P, Foissner W. Functional ecology of the ciliate Glaucomides bromelicola, and comparison with the sympatric species Bromeliothrix metopoides. J Eukaryot Microbiol 2013; 60:578-87. [PMID: 23865693 PMCID: PMC4028988 DOI: 10.1111/jeu.12063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2013] [Revised: 04/12/2013] [Accepted: 05/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the ecology and life strategy of Glaucomides bromelicola (family Bromeliophryidae), a very common ciliate in the reservoirs (tanks) of bromeliads, assessing its response to food quality and quantity and pH. Further, we conducted competition experiments with the frequently coexisting species Bromeliothrix metopoides (family Colpodidae). In contrast to B. metopoides and many other colpodean ciliates, G. bromelicola does not form resting cysts, which jeopardizes this ciliate when its small aquatic habitats dry out. Both species form bactivorous microstomes and flagellate-feeding macrostomes. However, only G. bromelicola has a low feeding threshold and is able to adapt to different protist food. The higher affinity to the local bacterial and flagellate food renders it the superior competitor relative to B. metopoides. Continuous encystment and excystment of the latter may enable stable coexistence of both species in their natural habitat. Both are tolerant to a wide range of pH (4–9). These ciliates appear to be limited to tank bromeliads because they either lack resting cysts and vectors for long distance dispersal (G. bromelicola) and/or have highly specific food requirements (primarily B. metopoides).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Weisse
- Research Institute for Limnology, University of Innsbruck, Herzog Odilostrasse 101, Mondsee, 5310, Austria
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|