Morphology, Ultrastructure and Life Cycle of Vitrella brassicaformis n. sp., n. gen., a Novel Chromerid from the Great Barrier Reef

0375995 - BC 2013 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Oborník, Miroslav - Modrý, David - Lukeš, Martin - Černotíková, Eva - Cihlář, J. - Tesařová, Martina - Kotabová, Eva - Vancová, Marie - Prášil, Ondřej - Lukeš, Julius
Morphology, Ultrastructure and Life Cycle of Vitrella brassicaformis n. sp., n. gen., a Novel Chromerid from the Great Barrier Reef.
Protist. Roč. 163, č. 2 (2012), s. 306-323. ISSN 1434-4610. E-ISSN 1618-0941
R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA601410907; GA MŠMT 2B06129
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518; CEZ:AV0Z50200510
Keywords : Apicomplexa * Chromera * morphology * ultrastructure * life cycle * phylogeny * coral
Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology
Impact factor: 4.140, year: 2012

Chromerida are photoautotrophic alveolates so far only isolated from corals in Australia.It has been shown that these secondary plastid-containing algae are closely related to apicomplexan parasites and share various morphological and molecular characters with both Apicomplexa and Dinophyta. So far, the only known representative of the phylum was Chromera velia. Here we provide a description of another chromerid, Vitrella brassicaformis gen. et sp. nov., complemented with a detailed study on its ultrastructure, allowing insight into its life cycle. The novel alga differs significantly from the related chromerid C.velia in life cycle, morphology as well as the plastid genome. Analysis of photosynthetic pigments on the other hand demonstrate that both chromerids lack chlorophyll c, the hallmark of phototrophic chromalveolates. Based on the relatively high divergence between C.velia and V.brassicaformis, we propose their classification into distinct families Chromeraceae and Vitrellaceae.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0208516