Cunea n. g. (Amoebozoa, Dactylopodida) with two cryptic species isolated from different areas of the ocean

Alexander Kudryavtsev, Jan Pawlowski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

© 2015 Elsevier GmbH. This paper describes a new genus, Cunea n. g., of marine naked amoebae with two cryptic species, Cunea profundata and Cunea thuwala, isolated from distant localities in the ocean and different depths (Brazilian abyssal plain, Western Atlantic Ocean, depth >5. km and the Red Sea off the Saudi Arabian coast, depth ca. 58.7. m). Both species are very similar to each other in the set of light microscopic and ultrastructural characters and might be described as a single species, yet their genetic divergence based on 3 molecular markers (small-subunit ribosomal RNA, actin and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1) corresponds to the level of variation typically observed between different morphospecies of Amoebozoa. In addition, the studied strains differ strongly in their temperature tolerance ranges, C. profundata isolated from the cold Atlantic deep-sea habitat being able to reproduce under lower temperatures than C. thuwala isolated from the warm Red Sea benthos. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on SSU rRNA gene shows that the new genus robustly branches within the Dactylopodida, but forms an independent clade within this order that does not group with any of its known genera.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)197-209
Number of pages13
JournalEuropean Journal of Protistology
Volume51
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2015
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Cunea n. g. (Amoebozoa, Dactylopodida) with two cryptic species isolated from different areas of the ocean'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this