Phacodinium metchnikoffi (rare moss ciliate)

Protos · Post by **Protos** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:12 am

Zeiss DIC 25x 0.8 Korr water immersion

It is a ciliate that is found in Tree moss, It looks like an hybrid between a ridged Euplotes and Blepharisma with its AZM
Anyway rRNA analysis places it in hypotrichs under Euplotes on its own branch. I was able to get a silver carbonate staining which is rare with Hypotrichs (except Euplotes).
It is a very fast moving ciliate so quality is not perfect.
watching in HD is better
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grLIu_MWOtY

carlos.uruguay · Post by **carlos.uruguay** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 6:18 am

That beauty!

fpelectronica · Post by **fpelectronica** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 8:37 am

Very nice

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 2:19 pm

A beautiful record of a very curious ciliate!

Congrats on the excellent staining, too.

Do you have the molecular work that's been done on Phacodinium (Shin et al. 2000; Bernhard et al, 2001; Miao et al, 2009)? If not, let me know and I'll forward the articles. Several studies place it clearly in Spirotrichea, and not with the heterotrichs, where it was traditionally placed, but it occupies a very basal position in the group (possibly a sister to all the other hypotrichous ciliates). So, it is all alone on a very long branch....in the one-species subclass, Phacodiniidia!

Protos · Post by **Protos** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 2:26 am

Hi Bruce I don't have the latest (Miao 2009)
What is striking is that this ciliate is very lonely on its branch
Ciliate evolution will never stop to surprise me

RogelioMoreno · Post by **RogelioMoreno** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 4:59 am

Nice video!

Rogelio

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Thu Oct 22, 2015 5:55 am

Protos wrote:Hi Bruce I don't have the latest (Miao 2009)

OK, check your email.

Protos wrote: Ciliate evolution will never stop to surprise me

It's remarkable how much the thing resembles a blespharismid. The convergent evolution of the AZM in spirotrichs & heterotrichs is kind of amazing...there must be strong advantages to that body design.