Morphology, morphogenesis, and phylogeny of an Anteholosticha intermedia (Ciliophora, Urostylida) population from the United States

Abstract A distinct population of Anteholosticha intermedia was isolated from soil in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, USA, and its morphology, morphogenesis and molecular phylogeny investigated by microscopic observations of live and protargol-prepared specimens and analyses of the sequence of small subunit (SSU) rDNA. Our population closely resembles the populations from Austria and Korea. Members of the genus Anteholosticha have been regarded as ontogenetically diverse, which is confirmed by the present work. The most noteworthy ontogenetic feature of the American population of A . intermedia is that the oral primordium in the proter appears apokinetally at the posterior end of the undulating membranes anlage at the beginning of division and then dedifferentiates midway through morphogenesis. Molecular phylogenetic analyses demonstrate, with high support, that the American population of A . intermedia is clearly distinct from congeners and branches as part of a sister lineage to the Bakuella – Urostyla clade that belongs to the major clade comprising the order Urostylida.