Premium
Redescription of R hizodomus tagatzi ( C iliophora: S pirotrichea: T intinnida), Based on Morphology and Small Subunit Ribosomal RNA Gene Sequence
Author(s) -
Saccà Alessandro,
StrüderKypke Michaela C.,
Lynn Denis H.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2012.00615.x
Subject(s) - biology , phylogenetic tree , ribosomal rna , genus , zoology , gene , biochemistry
Herein, we redescribe a tintinnid ciliate that is most commonly known as T intinnopsis corniger Hada, 1964; but it has been described several times with different names, specifically T intinnopsis nudicauda Paulmier, 1997 and R hizodomus tagatzi Strelkow & Wirketis, 1950. Neotype material was collected from the water column of the coastal saline L ake F aro, a meromictic basin connected to the S traits of M essina, C entral M editerranean. The L ake F aro population is characterized by a hyaline or sparsely agglomerated lorica, which made it possible to observe in detail the basal layer structure, usually concealed by abundant incrusting particles. Along with an improved description of the lorica, we provide novel information, such as the general zooid morphology, the ciliary pattern, and the small subunit rRNA ( SSU rRNA ) gene sequence. Our phylogenetic analysis, based on the SSU rRNA , groups this species with T intinnopsis radix , while the first taxonomic study designated it as R . tagatzi , introducing a new genus due to peculiarities in lorica morphology. We conclude that the species should be known as R . tagatzi, the senior synonym for the species. However, we do not transfer any other species to this genus, despite strong molecular similarities. Although it is obvious that the genus T intinnopsis is in need of a thorough revision, current molecular and cytological information for this genus is too sparse, and the type species has not yet been redescribed with modern methods.