{"title":"Broad-range necrophytophagy in the flagellate Orciraptor agilis (Viridiraptoridae, Cercozoa) and the underappreciated role of scavenging among protists.","authors":"Jannika Moye, Sebastian Hess","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.13065","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Protists show diverse lifestyles and fulfill important ecological roles as primary producers, predators, symbionts, and parasites. The degradation of dead microbial biomass, instead, is mainly attributed to bacteria and fungi, while necrophagy by protists remains poorly recognized. Here, we assessed the food range specificity and feeding behavior of the algivorous flagellate Orciraptor agilis (Viridiraptoridae, Cercozoa) with a large-scale feeding experiment. We demonstrate that this species is a broad-range necrophage, which feeds on a variety of eukaryotic and prokaryotic algae, but fails to grow on the tested fungi. Furthermore, our microscopic observations reveal an unexpected flexibility of O. agilis in handling food items of different structures and biochemistry, demonstrating that sophisticated feeding strategies in protists do not necessarily indicate narrow food ranges.</p>","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142568430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fernando Gómez, Tania Corina Navarrete-Carlos, Yahir Enrique López-Osorio, Huan Zhang, Eugenio Raymond, Rafael Salas, Rosalba Alonso-Rodríguez, Senjie Lin
{"title":"The identity of Centrodinium elongatum, type species of the dinoflagellate genus Centrodinium (Dinophyceae), and a review on the synonymy of allied species.","authors":"Fernando Gómez, Tania Corina Navarrete-Carlos, Yahir Enrique López-Osorio, Huan Zhang, Eugenio Raymond, Rafael Salas, Rosalba Alonso-Rodríguez, Senjie Lin","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.13062","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The planktonic dinoflagellate genus Centrodinium has been understudied, with the type species C. elongatum remaining undocumented since the original description. Here, we report C. elongatum isolated from Mazatlán, Mexican Pacific. In the chains, the posterior daughter cell with an incomplete apical horn shows the morphology of C. elongatum, while the anterior daughter cell with complete epitheca corresponds to C. pulchrum. For the first time, a species of Centrodinium sensu stricto (highly laterally flattened species with horns) was cultured. An unarmored life stage, known as Murrayella ovalis, derived from the spheroplast after ecdysis. In the rDNA molecular phylogenies, C. elongatum (=C. pulchrum) nested as basal to morphologically similar species (C. eminens and C. intermedium) and as a sister group of a former Murrayella species, C. punctatum. C. elongatum differs from C. eminens and C. intermedium in the chain formation, second apical (2') plate not being divided, horns with coarse poroid ornamentation, and missing prominent distal spinules. The taxonomy of Centrodinium sensu stricto is revised, with a discussion in the identities of C. complanatum, C. eminens, and C. maximum. The name C. deflexum is restored as a senior synonym of C. intermedium and C. ovale.</p>","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142467205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kristina I Prokina, Naoji Yubuki, Denis V Tikhonenkov, Maria Christina Ciobanu, Purificación López-García, David Moreira
{"title":"Refurbishing the marine parasitoid order Pirsoniales with newly (re)described marine and freshwater free-living predators.","authors":"Kristina I Prokina, Naoji Yubuki, Denis V Tikhonenkov, Maria Christina Ciobanu, Purificación López-García, David Moreira","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.13061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pirsoniales is a stramenopile order composed of marine parasitoids of diatoms with unique life cycle. Until recently, a single genus, Pirsonia, uniting six species, was known. The recent identification of new free-living eukaryotrophic Pirsoniales Pirsonia chemainus, Feodosia pseudopoda, and Koktebelia satura changed our understanding of this group as exclusively parasitic. However, their cell ultrastructure and feeding preferences were not fully studied due to the death of the cultures. In this study, we re-isolated some of these Pirsoniales and established six new strains exhibiting predatory behavior, including a first freshwater representative. This allowed us to describe five new genera and species, as well as to emend the diagnosis of the order Pirsoniales. The 18S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis revealed the position of new strains within Pirsoniales and their relationships with parasitoid relatives and environmental sequence lineages. Feeding experiments on novel Pirsoniales strains using diverse algal prey showed that they were not able to form trophosomes and auxosomes. The ability of cell aggregation in Pirsoniales was observed for the first time. One of the studied strains contained intracellular gammaproteobacteria distantly related to Coxiella. Ultrastructural analyses revealed a more complex cytoskeleton structure in Pirsoniales than previously thought and supported the monophyly of Bigyromonadea and Pseudofungi.</p>","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142347931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luis Javier Galindo, Varsha Mathur, Hadleigh Frost, Guifré Torruella, Thomas A Richards, Nicholas A T Irwin
{"title":"Transcriptomics of Diphyllatea (CRuMs) from South Pacific crater lakes confirm new cryptic clades.","authors":"Luis Javier Galindo, Varsha Mathur, Hadleigh Frost, Guifré Torruella, Thomas A Richards, Nicholas A T Irwin","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.13060","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Diphyllatea (CRuMs) are heterotrophic protists currently divided into three distinct clades (Diphy I-III). Diphy I are biflagellates in the genus Diphylleia, whereas Diphy II and III represent cryptic clades comprising Collodictyon-type quadriflagellates that were recently distinguished based on rRNA gene phylogenies. Here, we isolated Diphyllatea from freshwater crater lakes on two South Pacific islands and generated high-quality transcriptomes from species representing each clade, including the first transcriptomic data from Diphy III. Phylogenomic analyses support the separation of Diphy II and III, while transcriptome completeness highlights the utility of these data for future studies. Lastly, we discuss the biogeography and ecology of Diphyllatea on these remote islands.</p>","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142347932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdel‐Azeem S. Abdel‐Baki, Shawky M. Aboelhadid, Heba Abdel‐Tawab, Sónia Rocha, Manal Ahmed, Saleh Al‐Quraishy, Lamjed Mansour
{"title":"Ultrastructural and molecular characterization of Glugea sp. (microsporidia), a parasite of the Red Sea fish Carangoides bajad (Carangidae)","authors":"Abdel‐Azeem S. Abdel‐Baki, Shawky M. Aboelhadid, Heba Abdel‐Tawab, Sónia Rocha, Manal Ahmed, Saleh Al‐Quraishy, Lamjed Mansour","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.13058","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:italic>Glugea</jats:italic> sp. found infecting the liver of the teleost fish <jats:italic>Carangoides bajad</jats:italic> from the Red Sea, Egypt, is described based on light microscopy and ultrastructural characteristics combined with phylogenetic analyses. This microsporidium forms whitish xenomas up to ~4 mm in size. Xenomas display numerous parasitophorous vacuoles totally filled by mature spores, no other life cycle stages were observed. Mature spores ellipsoidal and measuring 6.3 × 4.0 μm in size. The polaroplast appears composed of two distinct regions: an electron‐dense vesicular region and a densely packed lamellar region. The polar tubule forms approximately 24–27 coils arranged in three layers encircling the posterior vacuole. The small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene and its ITS region were sequenced and showed the highest similarity of 99.4% to other <jats:italic>Glugea</jats:italic> spp. Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses place the novel isolate within the <jats:italic>Glugea</jats:italic> clade, more specifically within a subclade that predominantly grouped species described from fish inhabiting the Arabian Gulf or Red Sea. The results validate the parasite's classification in the <jats:italic>Glugea</jats:italic> genus. Nevertheless, until more detailed ultrastructural and molecular data are obtained, the identification of the current <jats:italic>Glugea</jats:italic> species is hampered by the absence of some developmental stages and the high degree of genetic similarity.","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142180383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maoshuang Ran, Wenxin Yang, Muhammad Usman Faryad Khan, Tian Li, Guoqing Pan
{"title":"Microsporidia secretory effectors and their roles in pathogenesis","authors":"Maoshuang Ran, Wenxin Yang, Muhammad Usman Faryad Khan, Tian Li, Guoqing Pan","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13046","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jeu.13046","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microsporidia, a group of unicellular eukaryotic parasites, rely intensely on secretory effectors for successful invasion and proliferation within host cells. This review focuses on the identification, characterization, and functional roles of effectors, including secretory proteins and microRNAs. The adhesion proteins like the Ricin-B-lectin facilitate initial invasion, which binds to the host cell surface. Once inside, microsporidia deploy a range of effectors to modulate host immune responses, such as serpin proteins, and redirect host cell metabolism to meet the parasite's nutritional needs through hexokinase. Some effectors such as microRNAs, alter the host gene expression to create a more favorable intracellular parasitic environment. In conclusion, the secretory effectors of microsporidia play a pivotal role spanning from host cell invasion to intracellular establishment. In the future, more effectors secreted by microsporidia will be studied, which will not only help to elucidate the molecular mechanism of pathogenic manipulation of the host but also help to provide the potential targets for anti-parasitic treatments.</p>","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142125910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yana Eglit, Shelby K Williams, Andrew J Roger, Alastair G B Simpson
{"title":"Characterization of Skoliomonas gen. nov., a haloalkaliphilic anaerobe related to barthelonids (Metamonada).","authors":"Yana Eglit, Shelby K Williams, Andrew J Roger, Alastair G B Simpson","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.13048","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Metamonads are a large and exclusively anaerobic group of protists. Additionally, they are one of the three clades proposed to ancestrally possess an \"excavate\" cell morphology, with a conspicuous ventral groove accompanied by a posterior flagellum with a vane. Here, we cultivate and characterize four anaerobic bacterivorous flagellates from hypersaline and alkaline soda lake environments, which represent a novel clade. Small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene phylogenies support recent phylogenomic analyses in placing them as the sister of barthelonids, a group that is itself sister to or deeply branching within Fornicata (Metamonada). The new isolates have a distinctive morphology: the hunchbacked cell body is traversed by a narrow ventral groove ending in a large opening to a conspicuous recurrent cytopharynx. The right margin of the groove is defined by a thin \"lip.\" The posterior flagellum bears a wide ventral-facing vane. The narrow ventral groove and elongate cytopharynx are shared with barthelonids. We describe one isolate as Skoliomonas litria, gen. et sp. nov. Further investigation of their mitochondrial-related organelles (MROs) and detailed ultrastructural studies would be important to understanding the adaptation to anaerobic conditions in Metamonads-especially fornicates-as well as the evolution of the \"excavate\" cell architecture.</p>","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142119979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"HCN channels are essential for the escape response of Paramecium.","authors":"Daisuke Kandabashi, Mutsumi Kawano, Shinobu Izutani, Hiyori Harada, Takashi Tominaga, Manabu Hori","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.13057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>When mechanical stimulation was applied to free swimming Paramecium, forward swimming velocity transiently increased due to activation of the posterior mechanosensory channels. The behavior response, known as \"escape response,\" requires membrane hyperpolarization and the activation of K-channel type adenylate cyclases. Our hypothesis is that this escape response also involves activation of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels. HCN channels are activated by hyperpolarization and are modulated by cyclic nucleotides such as cAMP and cGMP. They play a critical role in many excitable cells in higher animals. If HCN channels act in Paramecium, this should help to enhance and prolong hyperpolarization, thereby increasing the swimming speed of Paramecium. This study used RNAi to examine the role of the HCN channel 1 in the escape responses by generating hcn1-gene knockdown cells (hcn1-KD). These cells showed reduced mechanically-stimulated escape responses and a lack of cGMP-dependent increases in swimming speed. Electrophysiological experiments demonstrated reduced hyperpolarization upon injection of large negative currents in hcn1-KD cells. This is consistent with a decrease in HCN1 channel activity and changes in the escape response. These findings suggest that HCN1 channels are K<sup>+</sup> channels that regulate the escape response of Paramecium by amplifying the hyperpolarizations elicited by posterior mechanical stimulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142093480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Remarkable genetic variability and high antigenicity of the octapeptide-repeat region in an Entamoeba nuttalli-specific surface protein.","authors":"Tatsuya Imai, Azumi Kakino, Akitomo Sugawara, Xunjia Cheng, Hiroshi Tachibana","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.13055","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Entamoeba nuttalli is genetically the closest to Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of human amebiasis. E. nuttalli is found in Macaca species, exhibiting no symptoms while potentially virulent. Using comparative genomics of Entamoeba species, we identified a gene encoding an E. nuttalli-specific protein containing 42 repeats of an octapeptide (PTORS). In the present study, we analyzed the genes in E. nuttalli strains derived from various geographic locations and host species. Sequence analysis of genomic DNA from four strains indicated 43, 44, and 48 repeat types in addition to 42 repeats and remarkable genetic diversity in the repeat region, although all nucleotide substitutions were synonymous. In contrast, the sequences of the N-terminal side region and C-terminus were identical among the strains. Monoclonal antibodies prepared against recombinant PTORS were reactive to the repeat regions but not to the N-terminal side regions. Polyclonal antibodies did not react with the N-terminal region, demonstrating that the repeat region had higher antigenicity. Analysis using synthetic peptides revealed that the two repeats of the octapeptide functioned as epitopes. Immunofluorescence microscopy using monoclonal antibodies demonstrated the surface localization of PTORS. These results suggest that the repeat region of PTORS plays an important role in host-parasite interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142000035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Special issue on microsporidia","authors":"Louis M. Weiss","doi":"10.1111/jeu.13056","DOIUrl":"10.1111/jeu.13056","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":15672,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142000036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}