Article
Parasitology
C. T. Gurkanli, S. Okkay, Y. Ciftci, A. Ozer
Summary: A total of 25 specimens of peacock blenny were collected from Sinop on the Turkish Black Sea coast, with Myxidium parvum identified as the only myxosporean parasite in the gall bladder. Spore morphology and molecular analysis of M. parvum from S. pavo revealed its placement within Lineage II of the marine Myxidium clade.
PARASITOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Yongshi Shi, Zhiyu Zeng, Jia Wang, Siyu Zhang, Li Deng, Antai Wang
Summary: In this study, three new species of the Macrostomum flatworm genus were described. Both morphological and molecular evidence supports the distinction of these new species.
Article
Developmental Biology
Isabelle Pereira Mari-Ribeiro, Barbara Scorsim, Alessandra Valeria de Oliveira, Ana Luiza de Brito Portela-Castro
Summary: This study investigated the cytogenetic and molecular data of Oligosarcus pintoi, revealing the presence of a supernumerary chromosome in an allopatric population, which differs from other populations and contributes to the karyotypic diversification of the genus.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Valentina Serra, Sergei I. Fokin, Leandro Gammuto, Venkatamahesh Nitla, Michele Castelli, Charan Kumar Basuri, Adireddy Satyaveni, Bhagavatula Venkata Sandeep, Letizia Modeo, Giulio Petroni
Summary: This study explores the phylogenetic relationships within the subclass Peniculia, focusing on the molecular characterization of a less studied ciliate, Neobursaridium gigas. Unexpectedly, the inclusion of N. gigas's molecular data did not clarify the evolutionary relationships inside Peniculia, but rather raised intriguing questions about Paramecium phylogeny, suggesting N. gigas may belong to the Paramecium genus.
Article
Parasitology
Evelin E. Rejman, Kamilla Hak-Kovacs, John R. Barta
Summary: A new apicomplexan parasite, Isospora picoflavae n. sp., was described and differentiated from the Northern Yellow-shafted Flicker in Canada, using morphometric and genetic data.
ACTA PARASITOLOGICA
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Gaoxing Liang, Xin Yang, Ding Liu, Yuan Li, Junwei Wang, Xi Chen, Guanghui Zhao, Junke Song
Summary: This study characterized the genetic sequences of Eimeria christenseni and Eimeria arloingi in goats, providing useful genetic markers and contributing to the prevention and control of goat coccidiosis. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted to assess the relationship of E. christenseni, E. arloingi, and other Eimeria species in ruminants. The findings indicate that different genetic markers are effective in distinguishing between Eimeria species in goats and cattle, but not sheep and goats.
Article
Parasitology
Maria Sophia Unterkoefler, Iris Eipeldauer, Sophie Merz, Nikola Pantchev, Josef Hermann, Rene Brunthaler, Walter Basso, Barbara Hinney
Summary: This article presents two cases of severe canine Strongyloides stercoralis infection in Austria. The authors emphasize that the infection may be overlooked in Austria and the Baermann funnel technique is necessary for diagnosis. In addition, treatment with moxidectin may not always eliminate the infection, and ivermectin should be considered.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Mary Soniya Correya, Vijayagopal Pananghat, Sanil Nandiath Karayi
Summary: A new species of Myxobolus, M. planilizae n. sp., was discovered in the intestinal muscles of the largescale mullet Planiliza macrolepis from Cochin backwaters, India. Through morphological, morphometric, molecular, and phylogenetic analyses, the uniqueness of this new species was confirmed. It exhibits remarkable variations from other species of the genus Myxobolus.
ACTA PARASITOLOGICA
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Huiying Chen, Haowei Dong, Hao Yuan, Wenqi Shan, Qiuming Zhou, Xiangyu Li, Heng Peng, Yajun Ma
Summary: The accurate identification of sandfly species is crucial due to their role in transmitting medically significant diseases. However, conventional identification methods are time consuming and require experienced staff. This study investigates the use of DNA barcodes to identify common sandfly species in China and finds that mitochondrial DNA markers are effective in distinguishing these species.
Article
Zoology
Jose Antonio Cruz-Barraza, Jose Luis Carballo, Jose Maria Aguilar-Camacho
Summary: This study describes new species and faunistic records of Coelosphaeridae from the Mexican Pacific Ocean. Molecular analyses suggest that Coelosphaeridae, Lissodendoryx, and Celtodoryx are not monophyletic.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Roberto Junio Pedroso Dias, Pedro Mendes de Souza, Mariana Fonseca Rossi, Alfredo Hannemann Wieloch, Inacio Domingos da Silva-Neto, Marta D'Agosto
Summary: The study aimed to evaluate water quality of an urban stream in southeastern Brazil by analyzing epibenthic ciliates and investigating phylogenetic signal for saprobity in ciliates. It was found that there is clear influence of organic pollution on the composition and structure of ciliates taxocenosis in urban areas. The study confirmed the existence of phylogenetic signal for saprobity in Ciliophora, and evolutionary analysis is suggested as a potential method to predict lineages of ciliates not yet classified for saprobity.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Irina Vladimirovna Novakovskaya, Olga Nikolaevna Boldina, Dmitry Mikhailovich Shadrin, Elena Nikolaevna Patova
Summary: This paper describes a new species, Heterochlamydomonas uralensis sp. nov., isolated from the soil of the Subpolar Urals Mountains. The species is studied using morphological methods and DNA identification. It differs from other Heterochlamydomonas spp. in terms of cellular morphology, light and ultrastructural levels, and DNA sequences. This study is important for integrating DNA metabarcoding data with morphological characteristics-based species description.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Igor Henrique Rodrigues-Oliveira, Pierre Rafael Penteado, Rubens Pasa, Fabiano Bezerra Menegidio, Karine Frehner Kavalco
Summary: This study reveals that the Deuterodon genus of tetras in southeastern Brazil may have evolved due to neotectonic events, and at least three evolutionary significant units were identified within a species complex.
GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Harpreet Kaur, Aditya Gupta, Rajni Attri
Summary: This study focuses on a new Thelohanelloid T. neocyprini infecting the gills of Indian catla fish, and on the species complex among Thelohanellus genus members infecting gills, fins, and muscles. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rDNA showed homogeneity between 90% and 99%. Factors contributing to the species complex may include phylogeography, host specificity, and organ/tissue specificity of the myxozoan parasites. Further research using genetic markers and morphotaxonomy may help differentiate morphologically different species with similar genetic makeup.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Jing-Yi Xu, Yi-Jiao Liu, Shi-Yu Li, Zhu-Qing He
Summary: Through reconstructing the phylogenetic tree, a new species of Asonicogryllus, L. (A.) bronzus He sp. nov., is identified and placed as a subgenus of Loxoblemmus. The new species is similar to L. (A.) kwanghua, but with well-developed forewings and hindwings.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Ohad Hasin, Shani Shoham, Yoel Kashman, Micha Ilan, Shmuel Carmeli
Summary: This study analyzed the metabolites of Theonella swinhoei, a common inhabitant of reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, collected at different depths. Two chemotypes of T. swinhoei were identified based on the profiles of the theonellamides they produce. Additionally, a sample of T. swinhoei collected over 40 years ago was analyzed, resulting in the discovery of three new metabolites. The structures of these complex cyclic glycopeptides were elucidated using various techniques, and their antibacterial and cytotoxic activities were evaluated.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sergio Vargas, Thorsten Zimmer, Nicola Conci, Martin Lehmann, Gert Woerheide
Summary: While many coral reef species are threatened by overfishing, some octocorals show resilience to anthropogenic environmental changes and may replace stony corals in the future. Research has found that the molecular mechanisms of octocorals, such as Pinnigorgia flava, exhibit resilience to heat and seawater acidification stress. This provides insights into their adaptive responses to anthropogenically driven environmental changes.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Amir Szitenberg, Pedro Beca-Carretero, Tomas Azcarate-Garcia, Timur Yergaliyev, Rivka Alexander-Shani, Gidon Winters
Summary: This study investigated the effects of warming and nutrient stress on the composition of epiphytic bacterial communities and phenological traits in Halophila stipulacea seagrass. The results showed that the source site of the seagrasses had a major impact on seagrass phenology, while bacterial diversity mainly depended on environmental conditions. Nutrient stress triggered an increase in Rhodobacteraceae and Microtrichaceae, which could potentially buffer nutrient concentrations on the leaf surface.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOME
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Maria Novosolov, Dayana Yahalomi, E. Sally Chang, Ivan Fiala, Paulyn Cartwright, Dorothee Huchon
Summary: In this study, we analyzed the mitochondrial genome of Polypodium hydriforme and found that it is circular, contradicting the previous belief that it belongs to the phylum Medusozoa. Our results support the notion that P. hydriforme is closely related to Myxozoa and that the linearization of mitochondrial chromosomes in medusozoans occurred after the divergence of Myxozoa and P. hydriforme. Furthermore, the P. hydriforme mitochondrial genome is one of the largest among metazoan species and is characterized by rapid evolution.
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aditya Gupta, Michal Haddas-Sasson, Kfir Gayer, Dorothee Huchon
Summary: The economically important mullets in Israel have been stocked in the Sea of Galilee to increase income and water quality. A study found new species of myxozoan infections in the gill arches and reported infections in the visceral peritoneum and gall bladder of one species of mullet. The parasites may have been contracted in the Mediterranean Sea before introduction into the Sea of Galilee.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Gert Woerheide, Emilie Kaltenbacher, Zara-Louise Cowan, Gerhard Haszprunar
Summary: A new species of crown-of-thorns sea star, Acanthaster benziei sp. nov., is described based on genetic and morphological analysis, distinguishing it from other similar species.
Article
Limnology
Raz Moskovich, Rei Diga, Micha Ilan, Gitai Yahel
Summary: The in situ metabolism of sponges was examined by measuring the oxygen concentrations inhaled and exhaled by undisturbed sponges. The study found that there is a clear daily pattern of oxygen removal in sponges, with nocturnal removal being almost double the diurnal values. This diel difference in oxygen removal can be partially explained by photosynthesis, but other factors may also contribute.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Eleonora Tassara, Boaz Orel, Micha Ilan, Dario Cavallo, Andrea Dodero, Maila Castellano, Silvia Vicini, Marco Giovine, Marina Pozzolini
Summary: This study investigates the molecular and chemical-physical properties of collagen extracted from Chondrosia reniformis sponges collected in different seasons to evaluate the potential impact of sea temperature. The results show that collagen fibrils extracted from samples at 17 degrees C have lower lysyl-hydroxylation level, thermal stability, and protein glycosylation level compared to those extracted from samples at 27 degrees C. Membranes made from 17 degrees C fibrils exhibit higher stiffness than those made from 27 degrees C fibrils. The differences in collagen properties are important in guiding the use of the biomaterial.
Article
Paleontology
Ailin Chen, Luis Porras, Haidan Ma, Xianguang Hou, Gert Woerheide
Summary: In this paper, we describe a new sponge with unique characteristics, indicating its relevance to the evolution of ancient sponges. This new taxon shows similarities to the total group of Silicea and a combination of filtering sponges, suggesting a potential connection between two major types of Early Palaeozoic sponge body plans. A more accurate definition of the Cambro-Ordovician groups and the creation of a total evidence framework that integrates extinct and extant sponge morphology into the phylogenetic scenario derived from phylogenomics seem to be essential steps for the improvement of our understanding of early sponge evolution.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ksenia Juravel, Luis Porras, Sebastian Hoehna, Davide Pisani, Gert Woerheide
Summary: An accurate understanding of the evolution and ecology of animals relies on an accurate phylogeny. However, there are still unresolved nodes in the animal tree, including the root of animals, the root of Bilateria, and the monophyly of Deuterostomia. In this study, we utilized newly assembled genome gene content and morphological datasets to investigate these difficult nodes. Our results support the idea that sponges are the sister group of all other animals, Xenacoelomorpha is the sister group of other Bilateria, and provide tentative support for the monophyly of Deuterostomia.
Article
Zoology
Dirk Erpenbeck, Rob W. M. Van Soest, Gert Woerheide, Michelle Kelly
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lilach Raijman-Nagar, Liron Goren, Sigal Shefer, Raz Moskovich, Zhiyong Li, Micha Ilan
Summary: Climate change negatively affects sponges, but the ability of mesophotic sponges to cope with heat stress is poorly understood. This study compared the response of Red Sea sponge Diacarnus erythraeanus from shallow and mesophotic reefs to moderate and acute heat stress. The results showed that both populations of D. erythraeanus were highly tolerant to heat stress but exhibited physiological and microbial changes, suggesting potential genetic variability between hosts.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Merrick Ekins, Dirk Erpenbeck, Cecile Debitus, Sylvain Petek, Tepoerau Mai, Gert Woerheide, John N. A. Hooper
Summary: This study examines the taxonomy of sponge specimens with unique chemistry collectively known as Fascaplysinopsis reticulata. The results revealed that Fascaplysinopsis reticulata is a species complex comprising the genus Fascaplysinopsis, as well as two new genera: Skolosachlys gen. nov. and Rubrafasciculus gen. nov. Several new species were described within these genera.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Federica Montesanto, Racheli Hadjez, Francesco Mastrototaro, Dorothee Huchon, Carmela Gissi, Lion Novak, Noa Shenkar
Summary: The study describes the dispersal of the ascidian species Ascidia virginea from North Europe to warmer regions, highlighting the trend of species introduction through marine vessels and successful establishment in unfavorable environmental conditions. The research provides valuable data for species identification and habitat prediction, emphasizing the need to explore the potential of cold-water species in ports and warmer regions.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Merrick Ekins, Dirk Erpenbeck, Gert Woerheide, John N. A. Hooper
Summary: This study reports on new deep water sponge species discovered in the East Coast of Australia and the Lord Howe and Norfolk Ridges in the Tasman Sea. In addition, two previously known species have been redescribed based on the new collections.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Markus Osaland Fjelde, Einar Timdal, Reidar Haugan, Mika Bendiksby
Summary: This study investigated the taxonomy of the crustose lichen genus Calvitimela using molecular phylogenetics and morphological observations. The results revealed evolutionarily old and deeply divergent lineages within Calvitimela, with overlapping morphological characters between different subgenera. Chemical characters were informative at the level of subgenera but often homoplastic at the species level. A practical taxonomy of Calvitimela was proposed based on these findings.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bo-Yang Shi, Da Pan, Kang-Qin Zhang, Tian-Yu Gu, Darren C. J. Yeo, Peter K. L. Ng, Neil Cumberlidge, Hong-Ying Sun
Summary: This study investigates the evolutionary history and speciation mechanisms of montane potamids in the Hengduan Mountains Region. The results suggest that the vicariance events of these crabs are correlated with the emergence of sky islands due to the uplift of the mountains. The mountain ridges provided corridors for their dispersal and past climatic conditions played a crucial role in their evolutionary history. The mechanisms isolating sky islands are reinforced by the climatic features of dry-hot valleys and continue to affect local diversification.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Attila Nemeth, Edvard Mizsei, Levente Laczko, David Czaban, Zsolt Hegyeli, Szabolcs Lengyel, Gabor Csorba, Gabor Sramko
Summary: Species delimitation of European blind mole rats is challenging due to their small morphological differences and complex chromosomal evolution. This study provides a comprehensive framework to improve understanding of their evolutionary history and revise their taxonomy. The results reveal the presence of multiple superspecies and species, with distinct geographic patterns and rapid chromosomal evolution.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ying Qi, Zhaoyan Zhong, Xu Liu, Xing He, Yadong Zhou, Lili Zhang, Chong Chen, Katrin Linse, Jian-Wen Qiu, Jin Sun
Summary: This study investigates the phylogenetic relationships among patellogastropod families using mitochondrial and phylogenomic data. The results show that the mitochondrial phylogeny recovers monophyly of most families, but the relationships among families are still contentious. However, a more robust family-level topology consistent with morphology is achieved by phylogenomics. Additionally, the mainly deep-water families are found to be monophyletic, suggesting a single colonization of the deep water during the Jurassic.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yu-Jie Shi, Jin -Liang Huang, Jia-Xuan Mi, Jing Li, Fan-Yu Meng, Yu Zhong, Fang He, Fei -Fei Tian, Fan Zhang, Liang-Hua Chen, Han-Bo Yang, Hong-Lin Hu, Xue-Qin Wan
Summary: Despite numerous studies on hybrid speciation, our understanding of this process remains limited. In this study, we conducted an 18-year systematic investigation on Populus taxa on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and discovered three new taxa that originated from distant hybridization between two different sections. These hybrid taxa demonstrate greater ecological adaptability than their ancestral species due to heterosis. We propose a hybrid speciation process model that can explain important evolutionary concerns.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anna Cho, Denis Tikhonenkov, Gordon Lax, Kristina I. Prokina, Patrick J. Keeling
Summary: Unlike conspicuous ochrophytes, many small and overlooked flagellates belonging to basally branching stramenopiles remain poorly characterized at the cellular or genomic level. This study describes four new species, including two new genera, of sediment-dwelling MAST-6 and provides updated phylogenomic tree of stramenopiles. The characterization of these flagellates is important due to their phylogenetic diversity and abundance in various environments.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tian-Tian Xue, Steven B. Janssens, Bin-Bin Liu, Sheng-Xiang Yu
Summary: Phylogenomic conflicts are widespread among genomic data, with most previous studies primarily focusing on nuclear datasets instead of organellar genomes. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic conflicts within and between plastid and mitochondrial genomes using Potentilla as a case study. We found that both plastid and mitochondrial genomes divided Potentilla into eight highly supported clades, with two newly identified clades. Our results demonstrate that mitochondrial genes can fully resolve phylogenetic relationships among major clades of Potentilla and are not always linked with plastomes in evolutionary history.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexandra A. Grossi, Chunpo Tian, Mengjiao Ren, Fasheng Zou, Daniel R. Gustafsson
Summary: This study suggests that the coevolutionary relationships between chewing lice, endosymbiotic bacteria, and birds are not independent, but the patterns vary depending on the analysis method used. Additionally, louse host-switching does not seem to affect bacterial strains.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ingrid Olivares, Sergio Tusso, Maria Jose Sanin, Marylaure de La Harpe, Oriane Loiseau, Jonathan Rolland, Nicolas Salamin, Michael Kessler, Kentaro K. Shimizu, Margot Paris
Summary: Traditionally, differences between species have been associated with morphological variation. However, the discovery of cryptic diversity suggests that the evolution of distinct lineages can occur without morphological differences. Through genetic analysis, we found that a tropical montane plant lineage is composed of numerous unrecognized genetic groups that are not morphologically distinct. Geographic distance and topography play a crucial role in determining the genetic divergence of these groups.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2024)
