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Morphological Redescription of Opalina undulata Nie 1932 from Fejervarya limnocharis with Molecular Phylogenetic Study of Opalinids (Heterokonta, Opalinea)
Author(s) -
Li Ming,
PonceGordo Francisco,
Grim J. Norman,
Li Can,
Zou Hong,
Li Wenxiang,
Wu Shangong,
Wang Guitang
Publication year - 2018
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/jeu.12520
Subject(s) - biology , monophyly , paraphyly , phylogenetic tree , zoology , taxonomy (biology) , molecular phylogenetics , evolutionary biology , genetics , clade , gene
The redescription of Opalina undulata Nie 1932, collected from the rectum of the frog Fejervarya limnocharis , is presented in this paper based on detailed morphological information and molecular data. Our results revealed that specimens collected from Diaocha Lake in late August were larger and had more nuclei than those collected from the same site in early May. We sequenced their SSU rDNA ‐ ITS 1‐5.8S rDNA ‐ ITS 2‐ LSU rDNA (5′ end) and found that they were completely identical, which means that the two populations belonged to the same species. These facts gave us a hint that body dimension and number of nuclei are not reliable taxonomic parameters for opalinids during their life cycle. Therefore, we recommended that the specific identification of opalinids based on morphological features should be carried out during seasons except spring. Meanwhile, our molecular phylogenetic analysis confirmed the monophyly of Opalinata. Within Opalinata, Opalinea were monophyletic with all opalinid species grouping together. Karotomorpha and Proteromonas did not group together confirming the paraphyly of Proteromonadea.