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A team of researchers at Dalhousie University has found evidence suggesting that hemimastigotes represent a major new branch of evolutionary life. In their article published in the newspaper Nature, the group describes their genetic study of the microbe living in dust.
The researchers note that scientists have known hemimastigotes since the 19th century, but it is only recently that technology has allowed scientists to learn how different they are from other eukaryotic life forms. The researchers reported that one of their team members, Yana Eglit, was digging in a local park just outside of Halifax. Intrigued by the microbes found in the dust, she isolated a group that appeared to be hemimastigotes. After letting the microbes breed in a small dish filled with soil and water for a month, she collected samples that the team had used to perform a genetic analysis.
The researchers report that hemimastigotes are so different from all that has been observed before that fungi and animals are actually more closely related. They describe microbes as being about two hundredths of a millimeter long – they move with more than a dozen flagella. And they survive by eating other microbes. It is this latter characteristic that led the team to name the species Hemimastix kukwesjijk, as a tribute to a hairy ogre eating a folklore of Mi'kmaq folklore.
The researchers describe hemimastigotes as representing a major new branch of the evolutionary tree – located above the level of a kingdom. The team was able to analyze hundreds of samples thanks to Eglit's efforts to reproduce them, which allowed us to understand the genetic composition of the microbes. They also suggest that their discoveries fill evolutionary holes in the tree of life. They also note that in addition to understanding how much hemimastigotes are really different from other life forms, Eglit's work also offers a lesson to other researchers on how to grow these species in quite a large volume. to allow such a thorough study.
More information:
Gordon Lax et al. Hemimastigophora is a new line of eukaryotes at the supra-reign level, Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038 / s41586-018-0708-8
A team of researchers at Dalhousie University has found evidence suggesting that hemimastigotes represent a major new branch of evolutionary life. In their article published in the newspaper Nature, the group describes their genetic study of the microbe living in dust.
The researchers note that scientists have known hemimastigotes since the 19th century, but it is only recently that technology has allowed scientists to learn how different they are from other eukaryotic life forms. The researchers reported that one of their team members, Yana Eglit, was digging in a local park just outside of Halifax. Intrigued by the microbes found in the dust, she isolated a group that appeared to be hemimastigotes. After letting the microbes breed in a small dish filled with soil and water for a month, she collected samples that the team had used to perform a genetic analysis.
The researchers report that hemimastigotes are so different from all that has been observed before that fungi and animals are actually more closely related. They describe microbes as being about two hundredths of a millimeter long – they move with more than a dozen flagella. And they survive by eating other microbes. It is this latter characteristic that led the team to name the species Hemimastix kukwesjijk, as a tribute to a hairy ogre eating a folklore of Mi'kmaq folklore.
The researchers describe hemimastigotes as representing a major new branch of the evolutionary tree – located above the level of a kingdom. The team was able to analyze hundreds of samples thanks to Eglit's efforts to reproduce them, which allowed us to understand the genetic composition of the microbes. They also suggest that their discoveries fill evolutionary holes in the tree of life. They also note that in addition to understanding how much hemimastigotes are really different from other life forms, Eglit's work also offers a lesson to other researchers on how to grow these species in quite a large volume. to allow such a thorough study.
More information:
Gordon Lax et al. Hemimastigophora is a new line of eukaryotes at the supra-reign level, Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038 / s41586-018-0708-8
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