Morphology, Life Cycle, and SSU rDNA-based Phylogeny of Two Folliculinid Ciliates (Ciliophora, Heterotrichea, Folliculinidae) Collected from Subtropical Coastal Wetlands of China

Tingting Ye; Jie Huang; Alan Warren; Xuetong Zhao; Bohan Zheng; Hui Zhang; Yuhong Shi; Saleh A Al-Farraj; Xiangrui Chen

doi:10.1016/j.protis.2021.125844

Morphology, Life Cycle, and SSU rDNA-based Phylogeny of Two Folliculinid Ciliates (Ciliophora, Heterotrichea, Folliculinidae) Collected from Subtropical Coastal Wetlands of China

Protist. 2021 Oct-Dec;172(5-6):125844. doi: 10.1016/j.protis.2021.125844. Epub 2021 Nov 10.

Authors

Tingting Ye¹, Jie Huang², Alan Warren³, Xuetong Zhao¹, Bohan Zheng¹, Hui Zhang¹, Yuhong Shi¹, Saleh A Al-Farraj⁴, Xiangrui Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315800, China.
² Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.
³ Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
⁴ Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315800, China. Electronic address: chenxiangrui@nbu.edu.cn.

PMID: 34916151
DOI: 10.1016/j.protis.2021.125844

Abstract

Most ciliates of the heterotrich family Folliculinidae are flagship periphytic species. They are characterized by their transparent lorica, conspicuous peristomial lobes, and dimorphic life cycle. However, the understanding of their biodiversity and systematics is relatively poor. In the present study, we investigate the morphology and phylogenetic affinities of Ampullofolliculina lageniformis Hadži, 1951 and Metafolliculina producta (Wright, 1859) Dons, 1934, collected from subtropical coastal wetlands in China. An integrative approach combining investigations of their morphology, life cycle and ecology was used. Phylogenetic analyses based on small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequences showed that: all folliculinid genera form a monophyletic clade; the two genera with flexible peristomial lobes, Metafolliculina and Eufolliculina, are closely related; the other three genera with inflexible peristomial lobes, Ampullofolliculina, Diafolliculina and Folliculina, group together.

Keywords: Ampullofolliculina; Metafolliculina; SSU rDNA phylogeny; life cycle; morphology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Ciliophora* / genetics
DNA, Protozoan / genetics
DNA, Ribosomal / genetics
Life Cycle Stages
Phylogeny
Wetlands*

Substances

DNA, Protozoan
DNA, Ribosomal