Kinetoplastids OSI-906 chemical structure possess mitochondria with a uniquely structured genome, called “”kinetoplast”" DNA, and the group includes both free-living phagotrophic lineages (e.g. bodonids) and parasitic lineages (e.g. trypanosomatids such as Trypanosoma and Lieshmania). Euglenids possess a cytoskeleton, or “”pellicle”", consisting of overlapping proteinaceous strips that are arranged either longitudinally or helically, and the group includes bacteriovorous lineages (e. g. Petalomonas), eukaryovorous lineages (e.g. Peranema), osmotrophic lineages (e.g. Menodinium) and photosynthetic lineages (e.g. Euglena). The mitochondria of kinetoplastids and euglenids possess cristae

that are distinctively discoidal in shape. By contrast, diplonemids consist of only two genera, Diplonema and Rhynchopus, with sack-shaped cells, short flagella and flattened mitochondrial cristae and without eFT508 purchase kinetoplast DNA, pellicle strips, and paraxonemal rods. Ultrastructural studies have also demonstrated lineages of euglenozoans that do not fall neatly GS-1101 supplier within any of the three established subgroups, such as Postgaardi mariagerensis, which inhabits low oxygen environments

and is covered with epibiotic bacteria [9]. Currently, P. mariagerensis is grouped together with another poorly understood anoxic flagellate, namely Calkinsia aureus, as incertae sedis within the Euglenozoa [3]; although molecular data is unavailable for both species, one author has chosen to classify them within a taxon called the “”Postgaardea”" [10, 11]. C. aureus was originally collected from anoxic sediments near Woods Hole, MA (USA) and described with only line drawings as a member of the euglenid family Petalomonidae; this conclusion was based on the appearance of a rigid cell containing strip-like surface striations [12]. However, C.

aureus was subsequently collected from low-oxygen sediments in the Santa Barbara Basin, CA (USA) and partially studied with light and scanning electron microscopy (LM and SEM, respectively) [13, 14]. These studies demonstrated that like P. mariagerensis, C. aureus was covered PAK5 with the rod-shape epibiotic bacteria, rather than pellicle strips per se. The ultrastructure and molecular phylogenetic position of C. aureus is currently unknown. These data are expected to help establish robust inferences about the overall diversity of euglenozoans and the ultrastructure of prokaryote-eukaryote symbioses within the group and beyond. The main goals of this study were to characterize the ultrastructure and molecular phylogenetic position of C. aureus using small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of serially sectioned cells. Our results demonstrated that C. aureus is the first member of a novel group of anoxic euglenozoans – referred to here as the “”Symbiontida”" – to be characterized at both the molecular and ultrastructural levels.