Endosphaera
| Endosphaera | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Superphylum: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Ciliophora |
| Class: | Phyllopharyngea |
| Order: | Endogenida |
| Family: | Endosphaeridae |
| Genus: | Endosphaera Engelmann 1876 |
| Type species | |
| Endosphaera engelmanni Entz 1896[1]
| |
Endosphaera is a genus of suctorian ciliates described by George Engelmann in 1876. Species of Endosphaera are found in freshwater and seawater as either parasitic or commensal endosymbionts of other ciliates.
Description
Members of the genus Endosphaera are symbiotic suctorian ciliates.[2] Suctorians commonly have permanent adhesive organelles, but Endosphaera cells also exhibit a "perforatium", a temporary structure used for attachment to their host.[3] They lack the typical stalks or tentacles found in other suctorians.[4] Their life cycle is characterized by a free-swimming infective stage, or swarmer, and an adult intracellular stage that infects other ciliates.[5]
Endosphaera species are among the most common suctorian symbionts of ciliates in both freshwater and seawater.[1] They are mainly observed as endoparasites or endocommensals of peritrich ciliates, such as the genera Trichodina, Trichodinella and Mantoscyphidia,[4] but also other ciliates such as the vorticellid Spongostena and the suctorian Dendrocometes.[1]
Classification
The genus Endosphaera was described in 1876 by German-American biologist George Engelmann, initially without designating any species.[6] Later, four species were described, distinguished by the morphology of their swarmer stage: E. engelmanni, E. multifiliis, E. elisabetharum, and E. terebrans.[5][3] In 1978, the family Endosphaeridae was created to accommodate Endosphaera[7][2] and two similar genera, Parendosphaera and Acoelophthirius.[3]
References
- ^ a b c Jankowski, A.W. (2015). "Irkana gen. nov. (Ciliophora, Suctorea), a symbiont of the colonial peritrich Carchesium in Lake Baikal" (PDF). Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 319 (1): 40–56. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
- ^ a b Adl, Sina M.; Bass, David; Lane, Christopher E.; Lukeš, Julius; Schoch, Conrad L.; et al. (26 September 2018). "Revisions to the Classification, Nomenclature, and Diversity of Eukaryotes". The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 66 (1): 4–119. doi:10.1111/JEU.12691. PMC 6492006. PMID 30257078.
- ^ a b c Dovgal, Igor V. (2002). "Evolution, phylogeny and classification of Suctorea (Ciliophora)". Protistology. 2 (4): 194–270. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
- ^ a b Basson, Linda; As, Jo van (2006). "Trichodinidae and other ciliophorans (phylum Ciliophora)". Fish diseases and disorders. Volume 1: protozoan and metazoan infections. UK: CABI. p. 154–182. doi:10.1079/9780851990156.0154. ISBN 978-0-85199-015-6. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
- ^ a b Esteban, Genoveva; Téllez, Carmen; Muñoz, Amparo (1991). "Infraciliature, Morphogenesis and Life Cycle of Endosphaera terebrans (Suctoria, Tokophridae)". The Journal of Protozoology. 38 (5): 483–488. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.1991.tb04821.x. ISSN 0022-3921.
- ^ Aescht, Erna (23 February 2001). "Catalogue of the Generic Names of Ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora)". Denisia. 1: 1–350. ISSN 1608-8700.
- ^ Jankowski, A.V. (1978). "Phylogeny and divergence of suctorians". Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR. 242: 493–496.