Enchelyothrix muria n. gen, n. sp., (Ciliophora, Litostomatea, Spathidiida), an extreme halotroph spathidiid from Maharloo Lake, Iran

Although free-living ciliated protists (Ciliophora) commonly inhabit aquatic and terrestrial biotopes of mild to moderate salinity (PSS-practical salinity scale S = 10–150), very few have adapted to life at more extreme salinities (>150 to saturation). Such extreme halophiles or halotrophs are of interest from the standpoints of evolution, cell physiology, ecology, and even astrobiology. In this work, we present the morphology, 18S rRNA gene sequence, and phylogenetic analysis of a novel spathidiid ciliate (Ciliophora, Litosatomatea) that thrives in saturated brines of Maharloo Lake, Iran. Based on its unique combination of morphologic features, its molecular characterization, and its unusual ecology, it is assigned to a newly erected monotypic genus incertae sedis in order Spathidiida. The new species differs from other spathidiids by: a cell with a very short acutely pointed tail, the absence of a circumoral kinety with, instead, inclined, interrupted circumoral kinetofragments at the anterior end of somatic kineties and brush rows abutting the oral bulge, the absence of a contractile vacuole, a heteromorphic dorsal brush comprising five or six rows, and an extreme (at or near saturation) hypersaline habitat. We briefly discuss the persistent uncertainties regarding the phylogenetic relationships within the order Spathidiida.