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Protistology 10 (2), 5-93 (2016) Protistology
Abstracts of the International Scientific Forum "PROTIST-2016"
ULTRASTRUCTURE AND PHYLOGENY OF NEW SPECIES OF GLUGEA INFECTING THE INTESTINAL WALL OF CEPHALOPHOLIS HEMISTIKTOS IN SAUDI ARABIA Abdel-Gawwad Abdel-Azeem12, Al-Quraishy Saleh1, Azevedo Carlos31
1 - Zoology Department, College ofScience, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2 - Zoology Department, Faculty ofScience, Beni-Suef University, Egypt.
3 - Laboratory ofCell Biology, Institute ofBiomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal az,ema1@yahoo.com
A new microsporidian species of the genus Glugea Thelohan, 1891 parasitizing the marine teleost fish Cephalopholis hemistiktos Ruppell, collected from the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, is described on the basis ofmicroscopic and molecular procedures. Spherical and whitish xenoma were observed adhering to the intestinal wall. The numerous spores contained within these xenoma, were ovoid to pyriform and measured 5.1 (4.3-6.0) ^m in length and 2.2 (1.82.9) ^m in width. The spore's wall was composed of two thick layers, which were thinner in the area contacting the anchoring disk. The latter appeared at the spore's anterior pole, in an eccentric position to the longitudinal axis. A lamellar polaroplast surrounded the uncoiled portion of the polar filament projected to the basal region of the spore, giving rise to 26-29 turns with winding from the base to the anterior zone of the spore. The posterior vacuole, located at the spore's posterior pole, and surrounded by the polar filament coils, was irregular and composed of light material. Molecular analysis of the rRNA genes, including the ITS region, was performed using maximum parsimony, neighbour-joining and maximum likelihood methods. The ultrastructural features observed, combined with the phylogenetic data analyzed, suggest this parasite to be a new species of the genus Glugea.
BIODIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF SOIL CILIATES COLLECTED FROM THREE DIFFERENT SITES OF DELHI, INDIA TO ASSESS SOIL QUALITY Abraham J.S.1, Somasundaram S.1, Jangra S.1, Yadav K.1, Singh S.1, Zutshi S.1, Singh B.1, Dagar J.1, Kumar A.1, Goyal A.1, Bhatnagar M.1, Upadhaya M.1, Choudhary A.1, Toteja R.1, Gupta R.2, Gambhir G.1, Makhija S.1
1 - Acharya Narendra Dev College, University ofDelhi, Delhi, India
2 - Maitreyi College, University ofDelhi, Delhi, India jeeva18.SA@gmail.com, seemamakhija@andc.du.ac.in Soil is a natural body ofmineral and organic material differentiated into horizons, which differ among themselves as well as from underlying materials in their morphology, physical make-up and chemical composition. Biological components ofthe soil can vary from one site to another site depending upon the inorganic and organic make up of the soil. Soil ciliates are an integral part of the soil community. They play an important role in nutrient recycling by feeding on bacteria. Also, they are known to stimulate ammonification and nitrification that can later be used by plants and other members of the food web. Although they play an influential ecological role, information on soil ciliate diversity is still rudimentary. Particularly from India, very few data are available on soil ciliates. In this present study, the ciliate diversity was investigated from three different areas, that is, from human inhabitant land [Acharya Narendra Dev College (ANDC) campus], an agricultural land (Karnal) and a sewage treatment plant (Rithala) within Delhi, India. Physicochemical analysis of soil samples was conducted for its pH, nitrogen content, organic carbon content. Ciliate abundance was correlated with physicochemical properties. In total ciliates belonging to 5 Classes, 7 Orders, 15 genera and 20 species were found with maximum number
© 2016 The Author(s)
Protistology © 2016 Protozoological Society Affiliated with RAS
6 • "PROTIST—2016
belonging to Spirotrichs. Maximum number of oxytrichids were found in Rithala sewage site though ciliate diversity was less. Maximum ciliate diversity was found in ANDC whereas ciliate diversity was less in Karnal. Colpodids were present in all the sites examined but most abundant in sewage site. Variation in soil ciliate diversity can be correlated with soil quality of studied habitats.
SOIL PROTIST BACTERIA CONSUMPTION IS CENTRAL TO NUTRIENT CYCLING Adl S.M.
University ofSaskatchewan sina.adl@usask.ca
Protists are the most abundant consumers of bacteria in soils. Their diversity covers most lineages making them the most diversity group of organisms in soils. Communities assemble along abiotic microgradients, such as pO2, pCO2, pH, temperature, etc. Species of protist bacterivores are not homologous or interchangeable. Species in functional groups have differing ecological preferences, occupying distinct niches. There are significant measurable species specific differences regarding prey ingestion rates and prey preferences. It has been well recognised in both soil and aquatic ecology that ignoring inter-species variability in behaviour and consumption rates is problematic. The top-down grazing pressure on bacteria was calculated for a variety of species representing a variety of feeding types, from functional response curves. We calculated threshold prey levels that sustained growth and initial rate slopes for ingestion rates, to compare competitive ability at low food conditions. Together with maximum growth rates and maximum ingestion rates inter-specific competitiveness and niche preferences could be distinguished. Data will be presented for several well established cercozoa cultures, amoebae cultures, ciliates, and other protists. This information helps to improve our calculations of global bacteria biomass turnover rates in soils. It also helps to understand how soils can support dozens of bacterivorous species in each gram of soil, in a seemingly similar habitat.
BIODIVERSITY STUDIES IN LORICATE PROTISTS: THE CASE OF TINTINNIDS (ALVE-OLATA, CILIOPHORA, SPIROTRICHA) Agatha S.1, Santoferrara L.F.2
1 - Dept. of Ecology and Evolution, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
2 - Dept. Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut, USA sabine.agatha@sbg.ac.at
Species identification is crucial in biodiversity research (ecology, taxonomy, barcoding etc.). In tintinnids, taxonomy and classification are almost exclusively based on features of their vase-shaped loricae (houses). The lorica-based species circumscriptions are, however, problematic as loricae might show a considerable intraspecific variability and interspecific similarity and might be influenced by the cell cycle and physico-chemical factors. To overcome the difficulties with deviating species limitations suggested by "lumpers" or "splitters" in revisionary treatises, it is recommend to "go back to the roots", i.e., to use exclusively the original descriptions or authoritative redescriptions for identification. Additionally, good documentation of the identified loricae by means of illustrations and morphometric data is advisable. Depending on the aim of the tintinnid study, further procedures are proposed to generate at high rates long-lasting high-quality species re-/ descriptions and/or DNA barcodes, which are essential for reliable phylogenetic analyses and thus for the establishment of a natural tintinnid classification. These suggestions represent a compromise between data quality and work effort and can most easily be followed by collaborations of molecular biologists and morphologic taxonomists. Financially supported by FWF project P28790.
MICROBIAL EUKARYOTES IN OILSANDS-ASSOCIATED ENVIRONMENTS OF NORTHERN ALBERTA
Aguilar M.1, Richardson E.1, Paoli L.2, Nesbo C.3, Foght J.3, Dunfield P.F.4, Dacks J.B.15
1 - Department of Cell Biology, University of Alberta. Edmonton, Canada
2 - Département de Biologie, Ecole normale supérieure, Paris, France
3 - Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
4 - Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
5 - Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK
dacks@ualberta.ca
The oil sands in Northern Alberta are the second largest bitumen deposit in the world, and comparable in magnitude to world's reserves of conventional petroleum. They have global significance as energy reservoirs. However, some aspects of their exploitation are also cause for environmental concern. Fluid wastes from bitumen extraction are retained in enormous tailings 'ponds' under a policy of no release to the environment. The estimated surface area of tailings ponds in Alberta ranges from 77-176
