Multidisciplinary characterization and geographic distribution of benthic marine Ciliophora from Brazilian coast with emphasys on hypotrichs s. l. (Euplota et Hypotricha)

• Grant number: 15/17856-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2015
• End date: November 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Daniel José Galafasse Lahr
• Grantee: Thiago da Silva Paiva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The phylum Ciliophora constitute a monophyletic group of unicellular eukaryotes with more than 8.000 nominal species. They exhibit the largest variety of cellular structures among their kind, and are ubiquitous in soil, freshwater and marine ecosystems worldwide. Ciliates occur mostly as free-living forms, which feed on bacteria, other protists and even small metazoans. In the marine benthos, they are the dominant group of unicellular eukaryotes, occupying multiple trophic levels of interstitial food webs. However, benthic marine ciliates are still largely understudy in Brazil due to the "taxonomic impediment" resulting from the current scarcity of specialists interested in ciliate taxonomy. Hence, in order to mitigate such impediment, the present proposal aims to implement in the host institution a research line focused mainly on diversity of marine ciliates. To do so, this study intends to investigate the diversity and distribution of benthic ciliates present the Brazilian coast from an alpha-taxonomic perspective, based on a multidisciplinary approach including optical and electron microscopy, plus molecular data. This study emphasizes the hypotrichs s. l., which are among the most common ciliates occurring in sediment micropore habitats, of which some have biotechnological application due to production of defense toxins, and may harbor potentially pathogenic endocytobiotic prokaryotes. The execution of the present study will not only contribute improve knowledge on diversity and geographic distribution of marine ciliates worldwide, but also current hypotheses on phylogeny of hypotrichs, the less resolved among ciliates, by expanding both taxa and characters sampling.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LARISSA A. M. DE CASTRO; INÁCIO D. DA SILVA-NETO; THIAGO DA S. PAIVA. Physiological reorganization in the hypotrich ciliate Apoamphisiella vernalis (Protista, Ciliophora, Hypotricha). IHERINGIA SERIE ZOOLOGIA, v. 107, 2017-02-13. (15/17856-0)

DA SILVA-JUNIOR, RENATO; PAIVA, THIAGO DA SILVA. Evaluating the role of morphological characters in the phylogeny of some trypanosomatid genera (Excavata, Kinetoplastea, Trypanosomatida). CLADISTICS, v. 34, n. 2, p. 167-180, APR 2018. (15/17856-0)

PAIVA, THIAGO DA SILVA; KUPPERS, GABRIELA CRISTINA; GALAFASSE LAHR, DANIEL JOSE; SCHWEIKERT, MICHAEL; DA SILVA-NETO, INACIO DOMINGOS. Discomorphella pedroeneasi sp nov (Ciliophora, Odontostomatida): An anaerobic ciliate hosting multiple cytoplasmic and macronuclear endocytobionts. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PROTISTOLOGY, v. 58, p. 103-134, APR 2017. (15/17856-0)