| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Porfirio-Sousa, Alfredo L.
;
Ribeiro, Giulia M.
;
Lahr, Daniel J. G.
Total Authors: 3
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PROTISTOLOGY; v. 58, p. 187-194, APR 2017. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 1 |
| Abstract | |
Testate amoebae are eukaryotic microorganisms characterized by the presence of an external shell (test). The shell morphology is used as a diagnostic character, but discordance between morphological and molecular data has been demonstrated in groups of arcellinids (Amoebozoa), one of the principal groups of testate amoebae. Morphology of the test is supposed to differentiate genera and species and it is applied in ecological, monitoring and paleontological studies. However, if phenotype does not reflect genotype, conclusions in these types of studies become severely impaired. The objective of this work is to evaluate the morphometrical and morphological variation of the closely related and morphologically similar taxa Arcella intermedia laevis Tsyganov and Mazei, 2006 and Arcella intermedia (Deflandre 1928) Tsyganov and Mazei, 2006 in nature and in cultured individuals and see how these are correlated with molecular data. Our results demonstrate that phenotypic plasticity in Arcella intermedia make morphological distinctions impossible in both taxa. Arcella intermedia and Arcella intermedia laevis are molecularly identical for SSU rDNA and a mitochondrial molecular marker (NAD9/7). We conclude that morphological techniques alone cannot identify phenotypic plasticity from natural populations. More work is clearly needed to better understand the morphological, morphometric and molecular variability in these organisms. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 13/25729-3 - Temporal morphological variation of natural and clonal testate amoeba (Arcella vulgaris and Arcella gibbosa) lineages |
| Grantee: | Alfredo Leonardo Porfirio de Sousa |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation |