The Evolutionary Relationships between Endosymbiotic Green Algae of Paramecium bursaria Syngens Originating from Different Geographical Locations

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrycja Zagata ◽  
Magdalena Greczek-Stachura ◽  
Sebastian Tarcz ◽  
Maria Rautian
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Paramecium Bursaria ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
Geographical Locations

scholarly journals Genetic Diversity of Symbiotic Green Algae of Paramecium bursaria Syngens Originating from Distant Geographical Locations

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 609
Author(s):  
Magdalena Greczek-Stachura ◽  
Patrycja Zagata Leśnicka ◽  
Sebastian Tarcz ◽  
Maria Rautian ◽  
Katarzyna Możdżeń
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Haplotype Diversity ◽  
28S Rdna ◽  
Paramecium Bursaria ◽  
Its2 Region ◽  
5.8S Rdna ◽  
Rdna Its2 ◽  
Green Algal ◽  
Chlorella Variabilis ◽  
Geographical Locations

Paramecium bursaria (Ehrenberg 1831) is a ciliate species living in a symbiotic relationship with green algae. The aim of the study was to identify green algal symbionts of P. bursaria originating from distant geographical locations and to answer the question of whether the occurrence of endosymbiont taxa was correlated with a specific ciliate syngen (sexually separated sibling group). In a comparative analysis, we investigated 43 P. bursaria symbiont strains based on molecular features. Three DNA fragments were sequenced: two from the nuclear genomes—a fragment of the ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 region and a fragment of the gene encoding large subunit ribosomal RNA (28S rDNA), as well as a fragment of the plastid genome comprising the 3′rpl36-5′infA genes. The analysis of two ribosomal sequences showed the presence of 29 haplotypes (haplotype diversity Hd = 0.98736 for ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 and Hd = 0.908 for 28S rDNA) in the former two regions, and 36 haplotypes in the 3′rpl36-5′infA gene fragment (Hd = 0.984). The following symbiotic strains were identified: Chlorella vulgaris, Chlorella variabilis, Chlorella sorokiniana and Micractinium conductrix. We rejected the hypotheses concerning (i) the correlation between P. bursaria syngen and symbiotic species, and (ii) the relationship between symbiotic species and geographic distribution.

scholarly journals Metabolic Symbiosis Facilitates Species Coexistence and Generates Light-Dependent Priority Effects

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Hsu ◽  
Holly V. Moeller
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Green Algae ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Priority Effects ◽  
Competitive Interactions ◽  
Paramecium Bursaria ◽  
Mutual Benefit ◽  
Cascading Effects

Metabolic symbiosis is a form of symbiosis in which organisms exchange metabolites, typically for mutual benefit. For example, acquired phototrophs like Paramecium bursaria obtain photosynthate from endosymbiotic green algae called Chlorella. In addition to facilitating the persistence of P. bursaria by providing a carbon source that supplements P. bursaria’s heterotrophic digestion of bacteria, symbiotic Chlorella may impact competitive interactions between P. bursaria and other bacterivores, with cascading effects on community composition and overall diversity. Here, we tested the effects of metabolic symbiosis on coexistence by assessing the impacts of acquired phototrophy on priority effects, or the effect of species arrival order on species interactions, between P. bursaria and its competitor Colpidium. Our results suggest light-dependent priority effects. The acquired phototroph benefited from metabolic symbiosis during sequential arrival of each organism in competition, and led to increased growth of late-arriving Colpidium. These findings demonstrate that understanding the consequences of priority effects for species coexistence requires consideration of metabolic symbiosis.

scholarly journals Evolutionary relatedness does not predict competition and co-occurrence in natural or experimental communities of green algae

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1799) ◽  
pp. 20141745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markos A. Alexandrou ◽  
Bradley J. Cardinale ◽  
John D. Hall ◽  
Charles F. Delwiche ◽  
Keith Fritschie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Phylogenetic Distance ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Experimental Systems ◽  
Evolutionary Relatedness ◽  
Close Relatives

The competition-relatedness hypothesis (CRH) predicts that the strength of competition is the strongest among closely related species and decreases as species become less related. This hypothesis is based on the assumption that common ancestry causes close relatives to share biological traits that lead to greater ecological similarity. Although intuitively appealing, the extent to which phylogeny can predict competition and co-occurrence among species has only recently been rigorously tested, with mixed results. When studies have failed to support the CRH, critics have pointed out at least three limitations: (i) the use of data poor phylogenies that provide inaccurate estimates of species relatedness, (ii) the use of inappropriate statistical models that fail to detect relationships between relatedness and species interactions amidst nonlinearities and heteroskedastic variances, and (iii) overly simplified laboratory conditions that fail to allow eco-evolutionary relationships to emerge. Here, we address these limitations and find they do not explain why evolutionary relatedness fails to predict the strength of species interactions or probabilities of coexistence among freshwater green algae. First, we construct a new data-rich, transcriptome-based phylogeny of common freshwater green algae that are commonly cultured and used for laboratory experiments. Using this new phylogeny, we re-analyse ecological data from three previously published laboratory experiments. After accounting for the possibility of nonlinearities and heterogeneity of variances across levels of relatedness, we find no relationship between phylogenetic distance and ecological traits. In addition, we show that communities of North American green algae are randomly composed with respect to their evolutionary relationships in 99% of 1077 lakes spanning the continental United States. Together, these analyses result in one of the most comprehensive case studies of how evolutionary history influences species interactions and community assembly in both natural and experimental systems. Our results challenge the generality of the CRH and suggest it may be time to re-evaluate the validity and assumptions of this hypothesis.

scholarly journals Endosymbiotic Green Algae in Paramecium bursaria: A New Isolation Method and a Simple Diagnostic PCR Approach for the Identification

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Spanner ◽  
Tatyana Darienko ◽  
Tracy Biehler ◽  
Bettina Sonntag ◽  
Thomas Pröschold
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Paramecium Bursaria ◽  
Isolation Method ◽  
Specific Primers ◽  
Diagnostic Pcr ◽  
Chlorella Variabilis ◽  
The World ◽  
Axenic Cultures

Paramecium bursaria is a single-celled model organism for studying endosymbiosis among ciliates and green algae. Most strains of P. bursaria bear either Chlorella variabilis or Micractinium conductrix as endosymbionts. Both algal genera are unicellular green algae characterized by cup-shaped chloroplasts containing a single pyrenoid and reproduction by autospores. Due to their size and only few morphological characteristics, these green algae are very difficult to discriminate by microscopy only. Their cultivation is laborious and often unsuccessful, but we developed a three-step isolation method, which provided axenic cultures of endosymbionts. In addition to the time-consuming isolation, we developed a simple diagnostic PCR identification method using specific primers for C. variabilis and M. conductrix that provided reliable results. One advantage of this approach was that the algae do not have to be isolated from their host. For a comparative study, we investigated 19 strains of P. bursaria from all over the world (new isolates and available laboratory strains) belonging to the five known syngens (R1–R5). Six European ciliate strains belonging to syngens R1 and R2 bore M. conductrix as endosymbiont whereas C. variabilis was discovered in syngens R1–R5 having worldwide origins. Our results reveal the first evidence of C. variabilis as endosymbiont in P. bursaria in Europe.

scholarly journals Exome sequences of toque macaques (Macaca sinica) of Sri Lanka reveal many amino acid changes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilmini Hettiarachchi ◽  
Naoki Osada ◽  
Hirofumi Nakaoka ◽  
Takashi Hayakawa ◽  
Ituro Inoue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Macaca Mulatta ◽  
Reference Genome ◽  
Psychological Disorder ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
Island Population ◽  
Macaca Sinica ◽  
First Time ◽  
Geographical Locations

AbstractMacaques are one of the most widely used model organisms in biomedical research. Macaca mulatta and M. fascicularis are currently being used for toxicology, HIV, diabetes, neuroscience and psychiatric and psychological disorder researches. Many studies have been conducted on M. mulatta and M. fascicularis genomes for this purpose in order to understand the genomic properties of these species. Several M. fascicularis individuals from different geographical locations and also M. mulatta genomes have been sequenced and studied in depth for the purpose of understanding the phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships between various macaque populations. But still a gap in knowledge remains for other macaque populations such as the Sinica group. In this study for the very first time, we sequenced the exome of toque macaques (M. sinica), an endemic island population of Sri Lanka. Here we confirmed that M. sinica and M. thibetana cluster together and are closely related, also the three distinct phylogenetic groupings of fascicularis and sinica. We also found that M. sinica has less number of polymorphisms with respect to the reference genome M. mulatta signifying the smaller and restricted population size of this species.

scholarly journals Catalysis of Chlorovirus Production by the Foraging of Bursaria truncatella on Paramecia bursaria Containing Endosymbiotic Algae

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2170
Author(s):  
Zeina T. Al-Ameeli ◽  
Maitham M. Al-Sammak ◽  
John P. DeLong ◽  
David D. Dunigan ◽  
James L. Van Van Etten
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Virus Replication ◽  
Paramecium Bursaria ◽  
Fecal Pellets ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Endosymbiotic Algae ◽  
Additional Support

Chloroviruses are large viruses that replicate in chlorella-like green algae and normally exist as mutualistic endosymbionts (referred to as zoochlorellae) in protists such as Paramecium bursaria. Chlorovirus populations rise and fall in indigenous waters through time; however, the factors involved in these virus fluctuations are still under investigation. Chloroviruses attach to the surface of P. bursaria but cannot infect their zoochlorellae hosts because the viruses cannot reach the zoochlorellae as long as they are in the symbiotic phase. Predators of P. bursaria, such as copepods and didinia, can bring chloroviruses into contact with zoochlorellae by disrupting the paramecia, which results in an increase in virus titers in microcosm experiments. Here, we report that another predator of P. bursaria, Bursaria truncatella, can also increase chlorovirus titers. After two days of foraging on P. bursaria, B. truncatella increased infectious chlorovirus abundance about 20 times above the controls. Shorter term foraging (3 h) resulted in a small increase of chlorovirus titers over the controls and more foraging generated more chloroviruses. Considering that B. truncatella does not release viable zoochlorellae either during foraging or through fecal pellets, where zoochlorellae could be infected by chlorovirus, we suggest a third pathway of predator virus catalysis. By engulfing the entire protist and digesting it slowly, virus replication can occur within the predator and some of the virus is passed out through a waste vacuole. These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that predators of P. bursaria are important drivers of chlorovirus population sizes and dynamics.

scholarly journals Algal Diversity in Paramecium bursaria: Species Identification, Detection of Choricystis parasitica, and Assessment of the Interaction Specificity

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicitas E. Flemming ◽  
Alexey Potekhin ◽  
Thomas Pröschold ◽  
Martina Schrallhammer
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Markers ◽  
Host Cell ◽  
Species Identification ◽  
Green Algae ◽  
Paramecium Bursaria ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Mutualistic Symbiosis ◽  
Algal Symbionts ◽  
Chlorella Variabilis

The ‘green’ ciliate Paramecium bursaria lives in mutualistic symbiosis with green algae belonging to the species Chlorella variabilis or Micractinium conductrix. We analysed the diversity of algal endosymbionts and their P. bursaria hosts in nine strains from geographically diverse origins. Therefore, their phylogenies using different molecular markers were inferred. The green paramecia belong to different syngens of P. bursaria. The intracellular algae were assigned to Chl. variabilis, M. conductrix or, surprisingly, Choricystis parasitica. This usually free-living alga co-occurs with M. conductrix in the host’s cytoplasm. Addressing the potential status of Chor. parasitica as second additional endosymbiont, we determined if it is capable of symbiosis establishment and replication within a host cell. Symbiont-free P. bursaria were generated by cycloheximid treatment. Those aposymbiotic P. bursaria were used for experimental infections to investigate the symbiosis specificity not only between P. bursaria and Chor. parasitica but including also Chl. variabilis and M. conductrix. For each algae we observed the uptake and incorporation in individual perialgal vacuoles. These host-symbiont associations are stable since more than five months. Thus, Chor. parasitica and P. bursaria can form an intimate and long-term interaction. This study provides new insights into the diversity of P. bursaria algal symbionts.

Anabaena poulseniana J. Boye Petersen — a species new to Polish flora

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Richter
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Water Reservoir ◽  
Ecological Condition ◽  
Cylindrospermopsis Raciborskii ◽  
Clay Pits ◽  
Geographical Locations

AbstractAnabaena poulseniana J. Boye Petersen Bot. Iceland 2, 1923 (Cyanobacteria), a cyanobacteria species new to Polish flora, was noted during a study of phytoplankton in one of Wrocław’s clay pits. The species was noted in plankton samples among Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (Wołoszyńska) Seenayya et Subba Raju (Cyanobacteria) and Mougeotia sp. (Chlorophyta) filaments. The green algae created a bloom characterized by vegetation mats floating on the water.The paper presents detailed characteristics for Anabaena poulseniana, and for the habitat and the ecological condition in the examined water reservoir during its presence. The paper also presents a comparison of morphological characteristics of A. poulseniana from Poland to the species from other geographical locations. The research will provide data on the morphology and ecology of the species. The species found during the study were documented in the form of original photos and illustrations.

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