What are the Cryptomycota and Aphelida?
Molecular sequencing of environmental samples has brought about an awareness of unseen and previously unrealized biodiversity, labeled in part “dark matter fungi” (Grossart et al. 2016). These organisms are detected molecularly in environmental samples (Lara et al. 2010), but are unobserved morphologically. Among these widely dispersed but poorly known organisms is a recently recognized lineage of unwalled endoparasites consisting of three groups with distinctive host ranges. With the knowledge that these three groups were related, they were at first informally referred to as the “ARM clade” = Amoeboaphelidium + Rozella + Microsporidia (Karpov et al. 2013), but now have been officially designated as the superphylum Opisthosporidia (Karpov et al. 2014b), with the circumscription of three phyla: Cryptomycota (=Rozellomycota), Aphelida, and Microsporidia.
1. Cryptomycota was based on a large number of environmental samples and the zoosporic genus Rozella, an unwalled endoparasite of Oomycetes, Chytridiomycota, Blastocladiomycota and green algae. Because Rozella reproduces with posteriorly, uniflagellate zoospores, historically the genus has been included among the zoosporic fungi, Chytridiomycota (Barr 1980).
2. Aphelida are unwalled endoparasites of algae and reproduce with posteriorly uniflagellate zoospores or aplanospores. Aphelidea had been considered fungi by some and protists, such as the Rhizopoda, by others (Gromov 2000). Aphelidea reproduce with flagellated, pseudociliate, or amoeboid cells.
3. Microsporidia is a large group of unwalled endoparasites of animals, including humans. Distinct from the other two groups, Microsporidia: reproduce with walled spores, infect host cells with a complex structure called a polar filament, and contain mitosomes, relic mitochondria without a genome and the ability to produce ATP.
Because of their pivotal phylogenetic position between protists and traditional fungi, Opistosporidia is of much interest. Like motile cells of fungi, some members produce a wall containing chitin when they encyst. Like protists, some members appear to phagocytize host cytoplasm. Are these members of Kingdom Protista or Kingdom Fungi, or do they form their own kingdom?
Because so much of the vast diversity of the Opistosporidia currently consists of phylotypes and clones, rather than morphologically identified organisms, the group awaits discovery, analysis and characterization. The objectives of this grant are to discover new organisms and learn more about how these organisms interact with their hosts and impact their survival. Specifically, to expand representation, we are sampling habitats typical of reported locations for described species of Rozella (Cryptomycota) and Aphelidea and for related environmental phylotypes.
1. Cryptomycota was based on a large number of environmental samples and the zoosporic genus Rozella, an unwalled endoparasite of Oomycetes, Chytridiomycota, Blastocladiomycota and green algae. Because Rozella reproduces with posteriorly, uniflagellate zoospores, historically the genus has been included among the zoosporic fungi, Chytridiomycota (Barr 1980).
2. Aphelida are unwalled endoparasites of algae and reproduce with posteriorly uniflagellate zoospores or aplanospores. Aphelidea had been considered fungi by some and protists, such as the Rhizopoda, by others (Gromov 2000). Aphelidea reproduce with flagellated, pseudociliate, or amoeboid cells.
3. Microsporidia is a large group of unwalled endoparasites of animals, including humans. Distinct from the other two groups, Microsporidia: reproduce with walled spores, infect host cells with a complex structure called a polar filament, and contain mitosomes, relic mitochondria without a genome and the ability to produce ATP.
Because of their pivotal phylogenetic position between protists and traditional fungi, Opistosporidia is of much interest. Like motile cells of fungi, some members produce a wall containing chitin when they encyst. Like protists, some members appear to phagocytize host cytoplasm. Are these members of Kingdom Protista or Kingdom Fungi, or do they form their own kingdom?
Because so much of the vast diversity of the Opistosporidia currently consists of phylotypes and clones, rather than morphologically identified organisms, the group awaits discovery, analysis and characterization. The objectives of this grant are to discover new organisms and learn more about how these organisms interact with their hosts and impact their survival. Specifically, to expand representation, we are sampling habitats typical of reported locations for described species of Rozella (Cryptomycota) and Aphelidea and for related environmental phylotypes.
References
Barr. 1980. Canadian Journal of Botany 58: 2380-2394.
Gromov. 2000. Entomological Review 80 (suppl 1): 26-34.
Grossart et al. 2016. Fungal Ecology 19: 28-38.
Karpov et al. 2013. Protist 164: 195-205.
Karpov et al. 2014 Frontiers in Microbiology 5: Article 112.
Lara et al. 2010. Protist 161: 116-121.
Gromov. 2000. Entomological Review 80 (suppl 1): 26-34.
Grossart et al. 2016. Fungal Ecology 19: 28-38.
Karpov et al. 2013. Protist 164: 195-205.
Karpov et al. 2014 Frontiers in Microbiology 5: Article 112.
Lara et al. 2010. Protist 161: 116-121.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this site was provided by the National Science Foundation's Biodiversity: Discovery and Analysis Program DEB #1455611.
Disclaimer: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. #1455611. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the institutions supporting the authors.
Disclaimer: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. #1455611. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the institutions supporting the authors.