The Morphology, Taxonomy, and Phylogenetic Analyses of Five Freshwater Colonial Peritrich Ciliates (Alveolata, Ciliophora), Including the Descriptions of Two New Species

Abstract

The morphology and phylogeny of two new sessilid species, Zoothamnium weishanicum n. sp. and Epicarchesium sinense n. sp., two insufficiently known species, Zoothamnium arbusculaEhrenberg, 1831 and Zoothamnium hentscheliKahl, 1935, and a well-known species, Carchesium polypinum (Linnaeus, 1767) Ehrenberg, 1838, collected from freshwater habitats of China, were investigated. Zoothamnium weishanicum n. sp. is characterized by its inverted bell-shaped zooids, double-layered peristomial lip, alternately branched stalk, and two different-length rows in infundibular polykinety 3 (P3). Epicarchesium sinense n. sp. is recognized by its asymmetric-pyriform zooids, single-layered peristomial lip, conspicuous cortical blisters on the pellicle, dichotomously branched stalk, and P3 containing one short inner row and two long outer rows. Based on previous and newly obtained data of the three known species, improved diagnoses and redescriptions are provided including, for the first time, data on the infraciliature of Z. arbuscula and Z. hentscheli. In addition, we analyzed the phylogeny of each species based on SSU rDNA sequence data.

On four epibiotic peritrichous ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) found in Lake Weishan Wetland: morphological and molecular data support the establishment of a new genus, Parapiosoma gen. nov., and two new species

“… Nucleotide differences among Epistylis cambari , Parapiosoma typicum gen. nov., sp. nov. and their closely related taxa ( A , B ) based on SSU rDNA sequences (sequence references: Clamp and Williams 2006 ; Gómez et al 2018 ; Greenwood et al 1991 ; Irwin and Lynn 2015 ; Li et al 2008a ; Lu et al 2020 ; Williams and Clamp 2007 ; Wu et al 2021b , 2022a , b ). The numbers in the header indicate unmatched site positions …”

“…Orborhabdostyla brevipes is a poorly known species with a very brief original description (Claparѐde and Lachmann 1858). Penard (1922) reported a population which he Gómez et al 2018;Greenwood et al 1991;Irwin and Lynn 2015;Li et al 2008a;Lu et al 2020;Williams and Clamp 2007;Wu et al 2021bWu et al , 2022a. The numbers in the header indicate unmatched site positions identified as O. brevipes.…”

Past‐President address: My journey in microbial ecology—footprints in the sand, island hopping, supply chains, and technology bridges

“…His deep knowledge, enthusiastic collaboration, and high dependability have served to expand global interest in peritrich biology. Peritrichs on multiple continents have had occasion to appear in his microscopes, be highlighted by Protargol stains, or have their genetics analyzed (Li et al., 2008; Wu et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2023). His ongoing collaboration with Weibo Song's laboratory at Ocean University, Qingdao, China, has provided a good model for encouraging young researchers to tackle detailed studies that blend ciliate data from recent technologies with known descriptions and observations (Science China, Profile of Weibo Song, 2016).…”

“…The field of peritrich biology continues to be of interest to researchers, driven by technological changes and geographic diversity (Jiang et al., 2016; Liu & Gong, 2012; Mayén‐Estrada & Aguilar‐Aguilar, 2012; Mayén‐Estrada & Clamp, 2016; Safi et al., 2014). Recent peritrich papers have emphasized symbiotic and epibiotic relationships, phylogenetic clarification, and ecological dynamics of peritrichs in freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments (Wang et al., 2021; Wu et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2023). A recent ISOP symposium, “Advances in the Biology and Systematics of Sessilid Peritrichs and Other Ciliates,” coordinated by Rosaura Mayen‐Estrada, Weibo Song and Alan Warren, focused on new molecular data and phylogenomics (ECOP‐ISOP2023 Meeting Website, 2023).…”

Zoothamnium mariella sp. nov., a marine, colonial ciliate with an atypcial growth pattern, and its ectosymbiont Candidatus Fusimicrobium zoothamnicola gen. nov., sp. nov.

“…They occur in marine, brackish -, and freshwater environments [41], efficiently filtering their surrounding for microbes and organic particles [48,49]. New Zoothamnium species are continually being described [32,[50][51][52], suggesting that a great undiscovered diversity exists within the genus.…”