Telonemia

Telonemia are a phylum of microscopic eukaryote, single-celled organisms.[1] They are protists and are suggested to have evolutionary significance in being a possible missing link between ecologically important heterotrophic and photosynthetic species.^[1] [2]

According to Kamran Shalchian-Tabrizi from the University of Oslo’s Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, "this new group of organisms may have a greater genetic diversity than all known genomes of mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles".^[2] [3] Telonemia eat other single-cell organisms and planktonic algae, and in turn is eaten by animal plankton. "We are convinced that this group plays a central role in the ocean’s food chain and is a fragile piece of the greater ecological interplay,” says professor Kjetill S. Jakobsen.[4]

Telonemia species eat other living cells, and thus might be useful in understanding basic cell biology.[5]

Telonema antarctica Thomsen 1992
Telonema subtile Griessmann 1913 (synonym Telonema subtilis Griessmann, 1913)^[3]

^ Shalchian-Tabrizi K, Eikrem W, Klaveness D, Vaulot D, Minge M, Le Gall F, Romari K, Throndsen J, Botnen A, Massana R, Thomsen H, Jakobsen K (2006). "Telonemia, a new protist phylum with affinity to chromist lineages". Proc Biol Sci 273 (1595): 1833-42. PMID 16790418.
^ "Analysis of Environmental 18S Ribosomal RNA Sequences reveals Unknown Diversity of the Cosmopolitan Phylum Telonemia". Protist. PMID 17196879.
^ European Marine Biodiversity Research Sites. MarBEF. Flanders Marine Institute (2004).

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