Extreme adaptations of species often cause such significant changes that their evolutionary history is difficult to reconstruct. Zoologists at the University of Basel in Switzerland have now discovered a new parasite species that represents the missing link between fungi and an extreme group of parasites. Researches are now able to understand for the first time the evolution of these parasites, causing disease in humans and animals. The study has been published in the latest issue of the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Parasites use their hosts to simplify their own lives. In order to do so, they evolved features that are so extreme that it is often impossible to compare them to other species. The evolution of these extreme adaptations is often impossible to reconstruct. The research group lead by Prof. Dieter Ebert from the Department of Environmental Science at the University of Basel has now discovered the missing link that explains how this large group of extreme parasites, the microsporidia, has evolved. The team was supported in their efforts by scientists from Sweden and the U.S.
Between fungi and parasite
The team of zoologists lead by Prof. Dieter Ebert has been studying the evolution of microsporidia for years. When they discovered a new parasite in water fleas a couple of years ago, they classified this undescribed species as a microsporidium, mostly because it possessed the unique harpoon-like infection apparatus (the polar-tube), one of the hallmarks of microsporidia. The analysis of the entire genome had several surprises in store for them: The genome resembles more that of a fungi than a microsporidium and, in addition, also has a mitochondrial genome. The new species, now named Mitosporidium daphniae, thus represents the missing link between fungi and microsporidia.
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The above story is based on materials provided by Universität Basel. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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