Protist parasites - new species discovered
Tropical
rainforests are one of the most species-rich areas on earth. Thousands of
animal and plant species live there. The smaller microbial protists, which are
not visible to the naked eye, are also native to these forests, where they live
in the soils and elsewhere. A team of researchers has examined them more
closely by analyzing their DNA. They discovered many unknown species, including
many parasites, which may contribute to the stability of rainforest ecosystems.
See:
Frédéric
Mahé, Colomban de Vargas, David Bass, Lucas Czech, Alexandros Stamatakis,
Enrique Lara, David Singer, Jordan Mayor, John Bunge, Sarah Sernaker, Tobias
Siemensmeyer, Isabelle Trautmann, Sarah Romac, Cédric Berney, Alexey Kozlov,
Edward A. D. Mitchell, Christophe V. W. Seppey, Elianne Egge, Guillaume
Lentendu, Rainer Wirth, Gabriel Trueba, Micah Dunthorn. Parasites
dominate hyperdiverse soil protist communities in Neotropical rainforests. Nature
Ecology & Evolution, 2017; 1: 0091 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0091
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle
Tropical
rainforests are one of the most species-rich areas on earth. Thousands of
animal and plant species live there. The smaller microbial protists, which are
not visible to the naked eye, are also native to these forests, where they live
in the soils and elsewhere. A team of researchers has examined them more
closely by analyzing their DNA. They discovered many unknown species, including
many parasites, which may contribute to the stability of rainforest ecosystems.