Expansion of the molecular and morphological diversity of Acanthamoebidae (Centramoebida, Amoebozoa) and identification of a novel life cycle type within the group

Authors

Alexander Tice, Mississippi State University
Lora Shadwick, University of Arkansas
Anna Maria Fiore-Donno, University of Cologne
Stefen Geisen, University of Cologne
Seungho Kang, Mississippi State University
Gabriel Schuler, Mississippi State University
Frederick Spiegel, University of Arkansas
Katherine Wilkinson, San Jose State University
Michael Bonkowski, University of Cologne
Kenneth Dumack, University of Cologne
Daniel Lahr, University of Sao Paulo
Eckhard Voelcker, Penard Labs
Steffen Claub, Penard Labs
Junling Zhang, China Agricultural University
Matthew Brown, Mississippi State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

December 2016

Publication Title

Biology Direct

Volume

11

Issue Number

69

DOI

10.1186/s13062-016-0171-0

ISSN

1745-6150

Keywords

Acanthamoeba, Protosteloid amoebae, Amoebozoa, Protist, Protostelids

Disciplines

Biology

Abstract

Background Acanthamoebidae is a “family” level amoebozoan group composed of the genera Acanthamoeba, Protacanthamoeba, and very recently Luapeleamoeba. This clade of amoebozoans has received considerable attention from the broader scientific community as Acanthamoeba spp. represent both model organisms and human pathogens. While the classical composition of the group (Acanthamoeba + Protacanthamoeba) has been well accepted due to the morphological and ultrastructural similarities of its members, the Acanthamoebidae has never been highly statistically supported in single gene phylogenetic reconstructions of Amoebozoa either by maximum likelihood (ML) or Bayesian analyses. Results Here we show using a phylogenomic approach that the Acanthamoebidae is a fully supported monophyletic group within Amoebozoa with both ML and Bayesian analyses. We also expand the known range of morphological and life cycle diversity found in the Acanthamoebidae by demonstrating that the amoebozoans “Protostelium” arachisporum, Dracoamoeba jormungandri n. g. n. sp., and Vacuolamoeba acanthoformis n.g. n.sp., belong within the group. We also found that “Protostelium” pyriformis is clearly a species of Acanthamoeba making it the first reported sporocarpic member of the genus, that is, an amoeba that individually forms a walled, dormant propagule elevated by a non-cellular stalk. Our phylogenetic analyses recover a fully supported Acanthamoebidae composed of five genera. Two of these genera (Acanthamoeba and Luapeleameoba) have members that are sporocarpic. Conclusions Our results provide high statistical support for an Acanthamoebidae that is composed of five distinct genera. This study increases the known morphological diversity of this group and shows that species of Acanthamoeba can include spore-bearing stages. This further illustrates the widespread nature of spore-bearing stages across the tree of Amoebozoa.

Comments

This article was published in Biology Direct, volume 11, issue 69, 2016, and can also be found online here. Copyright © 2016, The Authors

Recommended Citation

Alexander Tice, Lora Shadwick, Anna Maria Fiore-Donno, Stefen Geisen, Seungho Kang, Gabriel Schuler, Frederick Spiegel, Katherine Wilkinson, Michael Bonkowski, Kenneth Dumack, Daniel Lahr, Eckhard Voelcker, Steffen Claub, Junling Zhang, and Matthew Brown. "Expansion of the molecular and morphological diversity of Acanthamoebidae (Centramoebida, Amoebozoa) and identification of a novel life cycle type within the group" Biology Direct (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13062-016-0171-0

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