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Multigene‐based phylogeny of Urostylida (Ciliophora, Hypotrichia), with establishment of a novel family
Author(s) -
Lyu Zhao,
Wang Jingyi,
Huang Jie,
Warren Alan,
Shao Chen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
zoologica scripta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.204
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1463-6409
pISSN - 0300-3256
DOI - 10.1111/zsc.12267
Subject(s) - biology , monophyly , phylogenetics , phylogenetic tree , molecular phylogenetics , genus , convergent evolution , evolutionary biology , taxon , zoology , clade , gene , botany , genetics
The Urostylida is a major taxon of hypotrichs with many unresolved evolutionary relationships. Due to incomplete or inaccurate character states and a paucity of morphogenetic data, the phylogeny of several taxa within urostylids is unresolved. Molecular phylogeny studies based on single gene ( SSU rDNA ) data may lead to conflict between morphological classification and SSU rDNA tree. In this work, 20 new sequences ( SSU rDNA , ITS 1‐5.8S‐ ITS 2 and LSU rDNA ) of five genera of urostylids are provided to further investigate the phylogenetic relationships of this group. The main findings are as follows: (i) the establishment of Hemicycliostylidae, a novel family presently including Hemicycliostyla and Australothrix , is supported by both single gene and concatenated phylogenies; (ii) all molecular data support the exclusion of Eschaneustyla from the family Epiclintidae; (iii) Australothrix , Bergeriella and Thigmokeronopsis are distinctly separated in all gene trees although they share the character that each posterior streak generates the ventral row together with the midventral pair; (iv) compared with closely related genera in all trees, that is Metaurostylopsis and Apourostylopsis , Neourostylopsis is characterized by having more than three frontal cirri arranged in distinct or indistinct corona rather than the length of the midventral complex; (v) Hemicycliostyla and Pseudourostyla , two morphologically similar genera, do not form a monophyletic group in all molecular trees, suggesting that the bicorona, multiple marginal cirral rows and high numbers of dorsal kineties may result from convergent evolution; (vi) species of Bakuella fall into three separate clades in all trees suggesting that this genus needs to be split.