Rozellids and aphelids: cryptic diversity and distribution in the environment.

Protistology: An International Journal

article

Anna Glotova¹  Elena Nassonova¹ 

[1] Laboratory of Cytology of Unicellular Organisms, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

关键词: rozellids;    aphelids;    metagenomics;    metabarcoding;    environmental sequences;    cryptic diversity;   

DOI  :  10.21685/1680-0826-2022-16-4-1

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Penzenskii Gosudarstvennyi Universitet

【 摘 要 】

Rozellids and aphelids represent the basal holomycotan lineages that attract attention as an intermediate link between protists and fungi and can shed light on their early evolution and phylogeny. They appear to be both abundant and diverse in many aquatic and terrestrial habitats all over the world, and in some ecotopes their abundance is comparable or even exceeds that of other holomycots. Despite this, these groups remain poorly studied. Few species belonging to these groups were isolated and analyzed at the organismal level; the diversity is known mainly from the metagenomic data. The sequences of rozellids and aphelids were found in the samples collected from a huge range of ecotopes and geographically distant habitats on all continents. The majority of sequences were isolated from freshwater as well as from activated sludge and wastewater. They were also found in soil, groundwater, perennial ice, invertebrate guts, marine and anoxic sediments. These organisms are able to survive extreme conditions, such as extremely low pH, low temperatures, and considerable oxygen depletion. They appear to have an important ecological role as parasites of zooplankton, zoosporic fungi and algae. The information on ecological properties of rozellids and aphelids is still scarce. Further metagenomic surveys of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are expected to enlarge our knowledge of their diversity and functional ecology.

【 授权许可】

CC BY