Home / Non-PS_Flagellates_and_Ciliates / Choanoflagellates / Salpingoeca
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Name derivation:
"War-trumpet house" -- War-trumpet Salpinx house –oeca.
Classification:
Order Craspedida, Family Acanthoecidae
Morphology:
Unicellular or colonial choanoflagellates. Cells have an ovoid cell body 3-10 μm in diameter with a single apical flagellum encircled by a collar of microvilli. The flagellum has the dual role in free-swimming forms of propulsion, as well as trapping food particles, mainly bacteria, against the microvilli. Colonial forms contain 4-20 cells. At least six species are recognized. Salpingoeca rosetta (formerly known as Proterospongia sp. ATCC 50818) has been selected for genome sequencing because of its morphological transitions during differentiation and development (King at al. 2003). Three unicell types (‘slow swimmer’, ‘fast swimmer, and ‘thecate cell’ (has a cup-shaped theca that is attached to a substrate) as well as two colony types (‘chain’ and ‘rosette’ [i.e. spherical]) are described (Dayel et al. 2011). Sequencing of the Salpingoeca genome enables exploration into molecular mechanisms that mediate choanoflagellate colony formation and allows testing hypotheses about the origin of animals (online).
Similar genera:
Habitat:
Planktonic or attached to substrates. Among other habitats, some inhabit salt marshes (Lydell et al. 2004).
References:
Dayel, M.J., R.A. Alegado, S.R. Fairclough, T.C. Levin, S.A. Nichols, K. McDonald, and N. King 2011. Cell differentiation and morphogenesis in the colony-forming choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta. Dev. Biol. 357(1):73-82. King, N., C.T. Hittinger, and S.B. Carroll 2003. Evolution of key cell signaling and adhesion protein families predates animal origins. Science 301(5631):361-363. King, N. 2005. Choanoflagellates. Current Biology 15(4):113. Leadbeater, B.S.C. 2008. Choanoflagellate evolution: the morphological perspective. Protistology 5(4):256-267. Lydell, C., L. Dowell, M. Sikaroodi, P. Gillevet, and D. Emerson. 2004. A population survey of members of the phylum Bacteroidetes isolated from salt marsh sediments along the east coast of the United States. Microbial Ecology 48(2):263-273.