Expanded gene and taxon sampling of diplomonads shows multiple switches to parasitic and free-living lifestyle
Free-living taxa form several clades nested within endobiotic taxa in our phylogenomic analyses, implying multiple transitions between free-living and endobiotic lifestyles. The evolutionary history of numerous virulence factors corroborates the inference of an endobiotic ancestry of diplomonads, suggesting that there have been several reversals to a free-living lifestyle. Regaining host independence may have been facilitated by a subset of laterally transferred genes. We conclude that the extant diversity of diplomonads has evolved from a non-specialized endobiont, with some taxa becoming highly specialized parasites, others becoming free-living, and some becoming capable of both free-living and endobiotic lifestyles.
Authors
- Vasana Jinatham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6139-4734)
- Martin Kolísko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0600-1867)
- Eric D. Salomaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6924-0844)
- Petr Táborský (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4833-3608)
- Ivan Čepička (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4322-0754)
- Eleni Gentekaki
- Monika M Wiśniewska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1530-7833)
- Jeffrey D. Silberman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2965-9197)
- Kristina X. Terpis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4496-8526)
- Eva Mazancová
Institutions
- Sewanee: The University of the South (US)
- University of Nicosia (CY)
- University of Rhode Island (US)
- Charles University (CZ)
- Brown University (US)
- University of Agriculture in Krakow (PL)
- University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (CZ)
- Mae Fah Luang University (TH)
- Institute of Parasitology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre (CZ)
- University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Biology
- Published
- 2024-09-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-02013-w
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Parasitic Infections and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.58
Funders
- Grantová Agentura České Republiky