title: Heterogeneity in the genus Allovahlkampfia and the description of the new genus Parafumarolamoeba (Vahlkampfiidae; Heterolobosea).
abstract: Heterolobosean amoebae are common and diverse members of soil protist communities. In this study, we isolated seven strains of amoebae from soil samples taken in Tibet (at high altitude), Sardinia and the Netherlands, all resembling to belong to a similar heterolobosean morphospecies. However, sequences of the small subunit (SSU) rDNA and internal transcribed spacers, including the 5.8S rDNA, revealed a high heterogeneity in the genus Allovahlkampfia to which six of the isolates belong. Some unnamed strains, of which the sequences had been published before, are also included within the genus Allovahlkampfia. One Allovahlkampfia isolated in the Netherlands harbors a twin-ribozyme, containing a His-Cys box, similar to the one found in strain BA of Allovahlkampfia. The other SSU rDNA sequence grouped in phylogenetic analyses with sequences obtained in environmental sequencing studies as sister to the genus Fumarolamoeba. This phylogenetic placement was supported by analyses of the 5.8S rDNA leading us to describe it as a new genus Parafumarolamoeba.
authors.affiliation: Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: s.geisen@nioo.knaw.nl.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Geisen
authors.affiliation: Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonkowski
authors.affiliation: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, 100193 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Junling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: de Duve Institute, 1200 Brussels, Belgium; Scientific Institute of Public Health, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johan F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: De Jonckheere
mesh_terms: D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D007558:Italy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009426:Netherlands; D010802:Phylogeny; D012340:RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S / Q000235:genetics; D016847:Schizopyrenida / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology; D013045:Species Specificity; D018609:Tibet
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012340:RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S; D012987:Soil
keywords: 5.8S rDNA; Allovahlkampfia; ITS rDNA; New genus; Parafumarolamoeba alta; SSU rDNA