title: Novel Trypanosomatid-Bacterium Association: Evolution of Endosymbiosis in Action.
abstract: We describe a novel symbiotic association between a kinetoplastid protist, Novymonas esmeraldas gen. nov., sp. nov., and an intracytoplasmic bacterium, "Candidatus Pandoraea novymonadis" sp. nov., discovered as a result of a broad-scale survey of insect trypanosomatid biodiversity in Ecuador. We characterize this association by describing the morphology of both organisms, as well as their interactions, and by establishing their phylogenetic affinities. Importantly, neither partner is closely related to other known organisms previously implicated in eukaryote-bacterial symbiosis. This symbiotic association seems to be relatively recent, as the host does not exert a stringent control over the number of bacteria harbored in its cytoplasm. We argue that this unique relationship may represent a suitable model for studying the initial stages of establishment of endosymbiosis between a single-cellular eukaryote and a prokaryote. Based on phylogenetic analyses, Novymonas could be considered a proxy for the insect-only ancestor of the dixenous genus Leishmania and shed light on the origin of the two-host life cycle within the subfamily Leishmaniinae.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The parasitic trypanosomatid protist Novymonas esmeraldas gen. nov., sp. nov. entered into endosymbiosis with the bacterium "Ca. Pandoraea novymonadis" sp. nov. This novel and rather unstable interaction shows several signs of relatively recent establishment, qualifying it as a potentially unique transient stage in the increasingly complex range of eukaryotic-prokaryotic relationships.
authors.affiliation: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Alexei Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Kostygov
authors.affiliation: Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dobáková
authors.affiliation: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Anastasiia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grybchuk-Ieremenko
authors.affiliation: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Dalibor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Váhala
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California, USA.
authors.forename: Dmitri A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Maslov
authors.affiliation: Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Votýpka
authors.affiliation: Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada vyacheslav.yurchenko@osu.cz jula@paru.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Julius
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lukeš
authors.affiliation: Life Science Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA vyacheslav.yurchenko@osu.cz jula@paru.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Vyacheslav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Yurchenko
mesh_terms: D042521:Burkholderiaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D004484:Ecuador; D010802:Phylogeny; D013559:Symbiosis; D014351:Trypanosomatina / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*