Tetrahymena dimorpha sp.nov. (Hymenostomatida: Tetrahymenidae), a new ciliate parasite of Simuliidae (Diptera) with potential as a model for the study of ciliate morphogenesis

Abstract

A new species of hymenostome ciliate, Tetrahymena dimorpha sp.nov., is described. This ciliate occurs as a parasite in the haemocoel of larval, pupal and adult Simuliidae (Diptera). In larval hosts the total number of parasites never exceeds about 240 and the infection is benign. Within larval hosts the ciliates are large and broadly oval and possess an unusually wide range of somatic kineties, from 30 to 66; moreover a variable proportion of these kineties are characteristically disorganized, being incomplete, meandering or branched. Metamorphosis of the host to the adult fly is accompanied by a dramatic increase in the number of ciliates, which reach pathogenic intensity. Adult hosts may contain up to 19000 ciliates and the flies soon die from this heavy burden. Associated with ciliate population growth during host metamorphosis is a startling morphological transformation of the ciliates themselves. In adult hosts the ciliates are smaller and pyriform in shape and the cortex is greatly modified; the total number of somatic kineties is considerably reduced and has a limited range of 19—22. Most significantly, the kineties are ordered with typical tetrahymenine precision. By application of appropriate culture conditions to ciliates isolated from any host stage, either of the distinctive morphological forms of T. dimorpha may be selectively induced in vitro . In bacterized infusions, ciliates are produced that have the general form and cortical characteristics of those found naturally in adult hosts. Sterile culture in serum-supplemented Mitsuhashi and Maramorosch insect tissue culture medium produces a population showing features characteristic of ciliates from larval hosts. Sterile culture in proteose-peptone-yeast-extract medium results in populations exhibiting concurrent dimorphism, even after cloning. The extreme nature and multiple facets of the dimorphism together with the ease of its manipulation in vitro afford opportunities for the experimental investigation of many problems, particularly those related to cell surface patterning in ciliates, and these possibilities are discussed in relation to current concepts of ciliate morphogenesis.

Barcodes Reveal 48 New Species ofTetrahymena,Dexiostoma, andGlaucoma: Phylogeny, Ecology, and Biogeography of New and Established Species

“…The finding of 32 new Tetrahymena species in the FPD/KD collection is in accord with the prediction (see Introduction) that there are many more species and is consistent with the apparent ease which past investigators (e.g., Batson , ; Cho ; Elliott ; Gruchy ; Jerome et al. ; Lynn et al.…”

“…There is a long history of sampling from these sources, but relatively little study in most cases beyond initial species descriptions. For parasites, available evidence suggests that there is host species specificity in some instances (Batson , ; Jerome et al. ; Lynn et al.…”

“…Finally, a deliberate search for parasites likely would find many more parasitic species but also might find parasitic forms of species currently known only as free‐living. With barcodes, isolates can now be unambiguously identified even if the parasitic and free‐living forms are morphologically different as was found, for example, in T. dimorpha (Batson ). It is unlikely, however, that named parasitic species without barcodes can be unambiguously rediscovered.…”

Flatworm transcriptomes reveal widespread parasitism by histophagous ciliates

“…Histophagous Tetrahymena prey upon a broad range of invertebrates, including midges (T. chironomi) (Corliss, 1960), mosquitoes (T. empidokyrea) (Jerome et al, 1996), black flies (T. dimorpha, T. rotunda) (Batson and Beale, 1983;Lynn et al, 1981), alderflies (T. sialidos) (Batson and Rees, 1985), slugs (T. limacis, T. rostrata) (Brooks, 1968), the glochidia larvae of freshwater mussels (T. glochidiophila) (Lynn et al, 2018), and the planarian flatworms Crenobia alpina, Dendrocoelum lacteum, Dugesia gonocephala, Girardia tigrina, Phagocata vitta, and Polycelis felina (T. acanthophora, T. corlissi, T. dugesiae, T. nigricans, T. pyriformis, T. scolopax) (Armitage and Young, 1990;Rataj and Vd'ačný, 2019;Rataj and Vďačný, 2020;Wright, 1981). Vertebrate infections have been reported in fish (T. corlissi, T.…”