title: Didymium-like myxogastrids (class Mycetozoa) as endocommensals of sea urchins (Sphaerechinus granularis).
abstract: This paper sums up the results of light microscopical, ultrastructural and molecular studies of five strains of amoeboid organisms isolated as endocommensals from coelomic fluid of sea urchins, Sphaerechinus granularis (Lamarck), collected in the Adriatic Sea. The organisms are reported as Didymium-like myxogastrids. Of the life-cycle stages, the attached amoeboids, flagellated trophozoites, cysts and biflagellated swarmers are described. Formation of fruiting bodies was not observed. Although phylogenetic analyses of SSU rDNA sequences indicated a close relationship with Hyperamoeba dachnaya, our sea-urchin strains have not been assigned to the genus Hyperamoeba Alexeieff, 1923. The presence of either one or two flagella reported in phylogenetically closely related organisms and mutually distant phylogenetic positions of strains declared as representatives of the genus Hyperamoeba justify our approach. Data obtained in this study may be useful in future analyses of relationships of the genera Didymium, Hyperamoeba, Physarum and Pseudodidymium as well as in higher-order phylogeny of Myxogastrea.
authors: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branisovski 31, 370 05 Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic. iva@paru.cas.cz
authors: Iva
authors: I
authors: Dyková
authors: Jirí
authors: J
authors: Lom
authors: Helena
authors: H
authors: Dvoráková
authors: Hana
authors: H
authors: Pecková
authors: Ivan
authors: I
authors: Fiala
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000469:parasitology*; D053058:Trophozoites / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal