English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

The ‘green’ ciliate Paramecium bursaria lives in mutualistic symbiosis with green algae belonging to the species Chlorella variabilis or Micractinium conductrix. We analysed the diversity of algal endosymbionts and their P. bursaria hosts in nine strains from geographically diverse origins. Therefore, their phylogenies using different molecular markers were inferred. The green paramecia belong to different syngens of P. bursaria. The intracellular algae were assigned to Chl. variabilis, M. conductrix or, surprisingly, Choricystis parasitica. This usually free-living alga co-occurs with M. conductrix in the host’s cytoplasm. Addressing the potential status of Chor. parasitica as second additional endosymbiont, we determined if it is capable of symbiosis establishment and replication within a host cell. Symbiont-free P. bursaria were generated by cycloheximid treatment. Those aposymbiotic P. bursaria were used for experimental infections to investigate the symbiosis specificity not only between P. bursaria and Chor. parasitica but including also Chl. variabilis and M. conductrix. For each algae we observed the uptake and incorporation in individual perialgal vacuoles. These host-symbiont associations are stable since more than five months. Thus, Chor. parasitica and P. bursaria can form an intimate and long-term interaction. This study provides new insights into the diversity of P. bursaria algal symbionts.

Algal Diversity in Paramecium bursaria: Species Identification, Detection of Choricystis parasitica, and Assessment of the Interaction Specificity