title: Trichonympha burlesquei n. sp. from Reticulitermes virginicus and evidence against a cosmopolitan distribution of Trichonympha agilis in many termite hosts.
abstract: Historically, symbiotic protists in termite hindguts have been considered to be the same species if they are morphologically similar, even if they are found in different host species. For example, the first-described hindgut and hypermastigote parabasalian, Trichonympha agilis (Leidy, 1877) has since been documented in six species of Reticulitermes, in addition to the original discovery in Reticulitermes flavipes. Here we revisit one of these, Reticulitermes virginicus, using molecular phylogenetic analysis from single-cell isolates and show that the Trichonympha in R. virginicus is distinct from isolates in the type host and describe this novel species as Trichonympha burlesquei n. sp. We also show the molecular diversity of Trichonympha from the type host R. flavipes is greater than supposed, itself probably representing more than one species. All of this is consistent with recent data suggesting a major underestimate of termite symbiont diversity.
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Erick R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.affiliation: University of Florida Research & Education Center, 3205 College Avenue, Davie, FL 33314, USA.
authors.forename: Rudolf H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Scheffrahn
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Keeling
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology; D056952:Hypermastigia / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020049:Isoptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan