Cryptic Diversity in Paramecium multimicronucleatum Revealed with a Polyphasic Approach.

ABSTRACT: Paramecium (Ciliophora) systematics is well studied, and about twenty morphological species have been described. The morphological species may include several genetic species. However, molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the species diversity within Paramecium could be even higher and has raised a problem of cryptic species whose statuses remain uncertain. In the present study, we provide the morphological and molecular characterization of two novel Paramecium species. While Paramecium lynni n. sp., although morphologically similar to P. multimicronucleatum, is phylogenetically well separated from all other Paramecium species, Paramecium fokini n. sp. appears to be a cryptic sister species to P. multimicronucleatum. The latt

SUBMITTER: Melekhin M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9143557 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature