Molecular Phylogeny and Surface Morphology of Marine Archigregarines (Apicomplexa), Selenidium spp., Filipodium phascolosomae n. sp., and Platyproteum n. g. and comb. from North-Eastern Pacific Peanut Worms (Sipuncula)

The trophozoites of two novel archigregarines, Selenidium pisinnus n. sp. and Filipodium phascolosomae n. sp., were described from the sipunculid Phascolosoma agassizii. The trophozoites of S. pisinnus n. sp. were relatively small (64-100 mu m long and 9-25 mu m wide), had rounded ends, and had about 21 epicytic folds per side. The trophozoites of F. phascolosomae n. sp. were highly irregular in shape and possessed hair-like surface projections. The trophozoites of this species were 85-142 mu m long and 40-72 mu m wide and possessed a distinct longitudinal ridge that extended from the mucron to the posterior end of the cell. In addition to the small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences of these two species, we also characterized the surface morphology and SSU rDNA sequence of Selenidium orientale, isolated from the sipunculid Themiste pyroides. Molecular phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that S. pisinnus n. sp. and S. orientale formed a strongly supported clade within other Selenidium and archigregarine-like environmental sequences. Filipodium phascolosomae n. sp. formed the nearest sister lineage to the dynamic, tape-like gregarine Selenidium vivax. Overall, these data enabled us to reassess the molecular systematics of archigregarines within sipunculid hosts and make the following revisions: (1) Filipodium was transferred from the Lecudinidae (eugregarines) to the Selenidiidae (archigregarines), and (2) Platyproteum n. g. was established for Platyproteum vivax n. comb. (ex. S. vivax) in order to account for the highly divergent morphological features and better resolved phylogenetic position of this lineage.