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

ABSTRACT: Ciliates are unicellular eukaryotes, regularly involved in symbiotic associations. Symbionts may colonize the inside of their cells as well as their surface as ectosymbionts. Here, we report on a new ciliate species, designated as Zoothamnium mariella sp. nov. (Peritrichia, Sessilida), discovered in the northern Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea) in 2021. We found this ciliate species to be monospecifically associated with a new genus of ectosymbiotic bacteria, here proposed as Candidatus Fusimicrobium zoothamnicola gen. nov., sp. nov. To formally describe the new ciliate species, we investigated its morphology and sequenced its 18S rRNA gene. To demonstrate its association with a single species of bacterial ectosymbiont, we performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridizat

SUBMITTER: Kendlbacher V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10984469 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature