The “<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetrahymena pyriformis</Emphasis>” complex of cryptic species |
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Authors: | Ellen M Simon David L Nanney F Paul Doerder |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;(2) Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA |
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Abstract: | Cryptic species are common among protists and have long been known in ciliates. The ciliate genus Tetrahymena contains a large group of morphologically indistinguishable species referred to as the ‘T. pyriformis’ complex. These species include those reproductively isolated by mating type as well as asexual species characterized by
the absence of the germinal micronucleus. This paper examines the molecular diversity of the species and describes the biogeography
of ‘T. pyriformis’ species. Most species are globally distributed, though the best studied species, T. thermophila, is confined to North America and gives evidence of population structure in local populations. Selfers and asexual species
are common and arise from sexual species, a possible exploitation of nuclear dimorphism. It is argued that the cryptic species
likely have different ecological roles and that the biodiversity of Tetrahymena in particular, and ciliates in general, is underestimated.
Special Issue: Protist diversity and geographic distribution. Guest editor: W. Foissner. |
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Keywords: | Tetrahymena Biodiversity Ciliates Cryptic species Population structure Species problem |
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