Leandro Gammuto

University of Pavia

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Giulio Petroni

University of Pisa

Valentina Serra

University of Pisa

Letizia Modeo

University of Pisa

Michele Castelli

University of Pavia

Davide Sassera

University of Pavia

Sergei I. Fokin

North-West Institute of Management

Venkatamahesh Nitla

University of Pisa

B. V. Sandeep

Andhra University

АА

А. А. Потехин

St Petersburg University

Olivia Lanzoni

University of Helsinki

Cooperative Institutions

University of Pisa

University of Florence

University of Pavia

National Research Council

University of Milan

St Petersburg University

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

University of Palermo

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

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Molecular phylogenetic position and description of a new genus and species of freshwater Chaetonotidae (Gastrotricha: Chaetonotida: Paucitubulatina), and the annotation of its mitochondrial genome

Invertebrate Systematics (2024)

Leandro Gammuto Valentina Serra Giulio Petroni M. Antonio Todaro

Chaetonotidae is the most diversified family of the entire phylum Gastrotricha; it comprises ~430 species distributed across 16 genera. The current classification, established mainly on morphological traits, has been challenged in recent years by phylogenetic studies, indicating that the cuticular ornamentations used to discriminate among species may be misleading when used to identify groupings, which has been the practice until now. Therefore, a consensus is developing toward implementing novel approaches to better define species identity and affiliation at a higher taxonomic ranking. Using an integrative morphological and molecular approach, including annotation of the mitogenome, we report on some freshwater gastrotrichs characterised by a mixture of two types of cuticular scales diagnostic of the genera Aspidiophorus and Heterolepidoderma. Our specimens’ overall anatomical characteristics find no correspondence in the taxa of these two genera, calling for their affiliation to a new species. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequence of the ribosomal RNA genes of 96 taxa consistently found the new species unrelated to Aspidiophorus or Heterolepidoderma but allied with Chaetonotus aff. subtilis, as a subset of a larger clade, including mostly planktonic species. Morphological uniqueness and position along the non-monophyletic Chaetonotidae branch advocate erecting a new genus to accommodate the current specimens; consequently, the name Litigonotus ghinii gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The complete mitochondrial genome of the new taxon resulted in a single circular molecule 14,384 bp long, including 13 protein-coding genes, 17 tRNA genes and 2 rRNAs genes, showing a perfect synteny and collinearity with the only other gastrotrich mitogenome available, a possible hint of a high level of conservation in the mitochondria of Chaetonotidae. ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9803F659-306F-4EC3-A73B-8C704069F24A

Monophyly

PhyloCode

10.1071/is23059

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Citations (3)

Identification of the bacteria associated to the phycosphere of the Chlorella-like strain SEC_LI_ChL_1

Algal Research (2022)

Valentina Serra Leandro Gammuto Giulio Petroni Adriana Ciurli Carolina Chiellini

Stenotrophomonas

Microbacterium

Alphaproteobacteria

10.1016/j.algal.2022.102869

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Citations (9)

Comparative study and morphological plasticity of an Italian and a Chinese population of the protist ciliate Pseudokeronopsis erythrina (Hypotrichia, Kentrurostylida) with a mitochondrial genome analysis

Water Biology and Security (2025)

Wenxin Xu Leandro Gammuto Valentina Serra Xiaotian Luo Fabrizio Erra

Protist

Erythrina

10.1016/j.watbs.2024.100345

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Multidisciplinary characterization of the new species Copemetopus mystakophoros and its symbionts with a proposal for the new class Copemetopea (Alveolata: Ciliophora)

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (2023)

Sergei I. Fokin Valentina Serra Leandro Gammuto Alessandro Allievi Giulio Petroni

Abstract The history of the genus Copemetopus is tortuous and studded with several misattributions. It was erected by Villeneuve-Brachon in 1940 after the discovery of Copemetopus subsalsus in saline ponds along the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea near Sète and associated with the class Heterotrichea in the family Metopidae, close to Bryometopus. After a long series of systematic revisions, it is now clear that Copemetopus is not a heterotrich and that it falls in the subphylum Intramacronucleata. Nevertheless, a lot more work is needed to fix the complex taxonomic status of the genus, which lacks a precise taxonomic collocation (it is presently referred to as incertae sedis). In the present study focused on a multidisciplinary and detailed description of a new species, of the genus, Copemetopus mystakophoros sp. nov., we also propose the erection of the new class, Copemetopea cl. nov. After careful literature and data revision, we believe that members of Copemetopus require a higher-ranked taxon in the phylum Ciliophora, given their molecular and morphological peculiarities.

Incertae sedis

Type genus

10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac114

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Host association and intracellularity evolved multiple times independently in theRickettsiales

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2022)

Michele Castelli Tiago Nardi Leandro Gammuto Greta Bellinzona Elena Sabaneyeva

Abstract The order Rickettsiales ( Alphaproteobacteria ) encompasses multiple diverse lineages of host-associated bacteria, including pathogens, reproductive manipulators, and mutualists. In order to understand how intracellularity and host association originated in this order, and whether they are ancestral or convergently evolved characteristics, we built an unprecedentedly large and phylogenetically-balanced dataset that includes de novo sequenced genomes and an accurate selection of published genomic and metagenomic assemblies. We performed detailed functional reconstructions that clearly indicated “late” and parallel evolution of obligate host-association and intracellularity in different Rickettsiales lineages. According to the depicted scenario, multiple independent series of horizontal acquisitions of transporters led to the progressive loss of biosynthesis of nucleotides, amino acids and other metabolites, producing distinct conditions of host-dependence. Coherently, each clade experienced a different pattern of evolution of the ancestral arsenal of interaction apparatuses, including development of specialised effectors involved in the lineage-specific mechanisms of host cell adhesion/invasion and intracellularity.

Alphaproteobacteria

Obligate

Lineage (genetic)

Taxonomic rank

10.1101/2022.10.13.511287

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Ciliated protozoa from industrial WWTP activated sludge: a biodiversity survey including trophic interactions and redescription ofBakuella subtropica(Spirotrichea, Hypotrichia) according to Next Generation Taxonomy

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2021)

Wanying Liao Valentina Serra Leandro Gammuto Francesco Spennati G. Mori

Summary Optimization of wastewater treatment with biological processes is a fundamental challenge of modern society. During past years new technologies have been developed for the purpose and prokaryotic organisms involved in the process extensively investigated. Nevertheless, relatively few studies so far analysed the protozoan community in these systems using modern integrative approaches, despite its obvious role in shaping ecological dynamics and, possibly, process efficiency. In the present study, we characterized the ciliate community in biological reactors of an Italian industrial (tannery) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) applying modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process. This plant is characterized by moderate salinity, high solids retention time and high concentration of organic compounds, including a significant recalcitrant fraction. We performed the morphological and 18S rDNA characterizations of almost all the 21 ciliates retrieved along a one-year sampling period, and provided preliminary data on species occurrence, community dynamics, and trophic interactions. Only 16 species were observed on the sample collection day and most of them had an occurrence higher than 50%. The most frequently occurring and highly abundant organisms were Aspidisca cf. cicada , Euplotes spp., Paramecium calkinsi , and Phialina sp. Cyclidium cf. marinum was only found on a single date and its presence was possibly related to a summer break-induced perturbation. All the species showed the capability to survive the short oxic/anoxic cycling typical of the studied WWTP process. Intriguingly, some of them (i.e., Bakuella subtropica and Trochiliopsis australis ) turned out to be species isolated from brackish natural environment rich in organic load as well. As for B. subtropica , we provided an emended redescription according to the most recent taxonomy standards that include also mitogenomic sequencing.

10.1101/2021.06.01.446513

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Citations (1)

Double trouble: could Ichthyophthirius multifiliis be a vehicle for the bacterium associated with red mark syndrome in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss?

Aquaculture (2020)

Chiara Pasqualetti Jacob Günther Schmidt Alessandra Cafiso Leandro Gammuto Olivia Lanzoni

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis

10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.736230

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Citations (8)

Phylogeny of Neobursaridium reshapes the systematics of Paramecium (Oligohymenophorea, Ciliophora)

Zoologica Scripta (2020)

Valentina Serra Sergei I. Fokin Leandro Gammuto Venkatamahesh Nitla Michele Castelli

Abstract The subclass Peniculia (Oligohymenophorea, Intramacronucleata) is one of the most known groups of the phylum Ciliophora, being composed by very notorious representatives, such as Paramecium and Frontonia . Nevertheless, phylogenetic relationships among genera within this subclass are still far from being resolved. Moreover, for several members of the group the characterization by molecular markers is still lacking, such as for Wenrichia, Clathrostoma, Paraclathrostoma, Didieria and, to date, also for Neobursaridium . The finding of one strain of Neobursaridium gigas from India led to the first molecular characterization of this uncommonly sampled ciliate. The 18S rDNA sequence and the COI sequence were obtained and used for phylogenetic analyses. Moreover, the partial mitochondrial genome of N. gigas was sequenced, annotated and employed for phylogenomics analysis. To increase the sampling effort for the Paramecium clade, several newly obtained 18S rDNA sequences of parameciids are herein presented. Unexpectedly, the inclusion of N. gigas's molecular data in phylogenetics/phylogenomics analyses did not help to solve the complex evolution relationships inside Peniculia. Conversely, it raised new and intriguing questions about Paramecium phylogeny, since N. gigas clustered inside Paramecium clade as sister species of Paramecium bursaria in all the performed analyses. A critical revision of past and present data led to rename N. gigas as Paramecium gigas (Balech, 1941) comb. nov., and triggered the revision of genus Paramecium , with the proposal of the new subgenus Gigaparamecium subgen. nov. Hypotheses on the evolution of giant morphologies in ciliates are also discussed.

Phylogenomics

Molecular Phylogenetics

Subgenus

10.1111/zsc.12464

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Citations (14)

Hepatincolaceae (Alphaproteobacteria) are Distinct From Holosporales and Independently Evolved to Associate With Ecdysozoa

Environmental Microbiology (2025)

Michele Castelli Leandro Gammuto Diona Podushkina Matteo Vecchi Tiziana Altiero

ABSTRACT The Hepatincolaceae ( Alphaproteobacteria ) are a group of bacteria that inhabit the gut of arthropods and other ecdysozoans, associating extracellularly with microvilli. Previous phylogenetic studies, primarily single‐gene analyses, suggested their relationship to the Holosporales , which includes intracellular bacteria in protist hosts. However, the genomics of Hepatincolaceae is still in its early stages. In this study, the number of available Hepatincolaceae genomes was increased to examine their evolutionary and functional characteristics. It was found that the previous phylogenetic grouping with Holosporales was incorrect due to sequence compositional biases and that Hepatincolaceae form an independent branch within the Hepatincolaceae . This led to a reinterpretation of their features, proposing a new evolutionary scenario that involves an independent adaptation to host association compared to the Holosporales , with distinct specificities. The Hepatincolaceae exhibit greater nutritional flexibility, utilising various molecules available in the host gut and thriving in anaerobic conditions. However, they have a less complex mechanism for modulating host interactions, which are likely less direct than those of intracellular bacteria. In addition, representatives of Hepatincolaceae show several lineage‐specific traits related to differences in host species and life conditions.

Alphaproteobacteria

Protist

Lineage (genetic)

Microecology

Betaproteobacteria

10.1111/1462-2920.70028

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Evaluation of Nutraceutical Properties of Eleven Microalgal Strains Isolated from Different Freshwater Aquatic Environments: Perspectives for Their Application as Nutraceuticals

Foods (2022)

Carolina Chiellini Valentina Serra Leandro Gammuto Adriana Ciurli Vincenzo Longo

The increasing global population and the simultaneous growing attention to natural, sustainable, and healthier products are driving the food industry towards research on alternative food sources. In this scenario, microalgae are gaining worldwide attention as "functional feedstocks" for foods, feeds, supplements, and nutraceutical formulations, being a source of high-value metabolites including polyphenols and other antioxidant compounds. In this work, eleven microalgal strains from freshwater environments were evaluated for their nutraceutical properties, focusing on photosynthetic pigments, total polyphenols, and flavonoid content, as well as in vitro antioxidant activities. Data helped to select those strains showing the most promising features for simultaneous massive growth and bioactive compound production. Results highlighted that the microalgae have variable values for both biochemical parameters and antioxidant activities, mainly depending on the solvents and applied treatment rather than on the isolation sources or the phylogenetic attribution. According to our results, the putative best candidates for massive cultivation under laboratory conditions for the simultaneous extraction of different molecules with nutraceutical potential are strains F1 (Scenedesmaceae), F3 (Chlamydomonas debariana), R1 (Chlorella sorokiniana), and C2 (Chlorella-like).

Nutraceutical

Chlorella sorokiniana

10.3390/foods11050654

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Citations (19)