title: Discomorphella pedroeneasi sp. nov. (Ciliophora, Odontostomatida): An anaerobic ciliate hosting multiple cytoplasmic and macronuclear endocytobionts.
abstract: Odontostomatids are among the less studied representatives of the Ciliophora. They are anaerobic microeukaryotes usually occurring as rare species in sapropelic environments. Here we describe a novel species of Discomorphella, named Discomorphella pedroeneasi sp. nov., using light and electron microscopy observations. Discomorphella pedroeneasi displays many complex morphological features, for which new terms are introduced, such as the auricules, epistomial fringe spacer, frontal awning, odontostomatid ciliary sockets, oral lips and ventral flap. Remarkably, D. pedroeneasi has at least six types of endocytobionts, including intramacronuclear ones, and organelles ultrastructurally similar to the M/H bodies of the odontostomatid Saprodinium dentatum. Based on the new data and revision of the literature, we propose two new diagnostic characters for species separation within Discomorphella: the fringe spacer ratio and the posterior fringe ratio. The taxonomy of Discomorphella is revised and an identification key is provided.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Evolutionary Protistology, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Laboratório de Biologia Molecular "Francisco Mauro Salzano", Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil. Electronic address: tpaiva@biologia.ufrj.br.
authors.forename: Thiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: da Silva Paiva
authors.affiliation: División Invertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia", Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Gabriela Cristina
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Küppers
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Evolutionary Protistology, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel José Galafasse
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lahr
authors.affiliation: Biologisches Institut-Abteilung Zoologie, Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schweikert
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Protistologia, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Inácio Domingos
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: da Silva-Neto
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D016798:Ciliophora / Q000145:classification* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000382:microbiology; D048648:Macronucleus / Q000382:microbiology; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D013045:Species Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: Armophorea; Brazil; Endosymbiosis; Odontostomatida; Plagiopylea; Taxonomy