Euduboscquella melo
Diagnosis
Diagnosis_Genus: Euduboscquella Coats & Bachvaroff 2012. Euduboscquellidae with trophont episome as disc-shaped shield bordered by a perinematic ring. Lamina pharyngea extending from perinematic ring into trophont cytoplasm. Food vacuole formed as trophont emerges from host giving rise to extracellular tomont. Multiple spore morphotypes possible, including dinokont and non-dinokont cells. Individual infections producing only one type of spore.
Diagnosis_Species: Trophont morphology/development: Young trophonts are bean-shaped but become spherical during growth, mature trophonts 50-80 µm diam. and have ~30 meridional furrows; several flagella are positioned along one of these furrows; no phagotrophic stage.
Sporogenesis: Sporogenesis takes place inside the host pellicle; all divisions are perpendicular to meridional furrows; flagellated sporocytes remain linked in chains.
Spore morphology: Macrospores 8-10 µm, microspores 4-5 µm in length; transverse and trailing flagella are ~12 µm long; spores are bean-shaped with hyposome slightly larger than episome. Only one type of spore produced per inefcted host.
Body_trophont_length: 50 – 80 µm
Body_macrospores_length: 8 – 10 µm
Body_microspores_length: 4 – 5 µm
Etymology
Genus name is derived from the Greek eu- (= well, normal) and the genus name Duboscquella.
melo= the trophont looks like to a melon.
Type species
The type species for this genus is Euduboscquella crenulata.
Type illustration / Type locality / Type specimen
Type host: Noctiluca scintillans (N. miliaris)
Ecology
There is often more than 10 young trophonts in one host. (Cachon 1964).
Sociability_trophont: solitary
Sociability_trophont: sometime gregarious
Substrate: endozoic (endoparasite)
Salinity: marine
Salinity: brackish
Salinity: variable
Life cycle
Infection may occur by ingestion or active penetration. In favor of this last hypothesis, Cachon (1964) noticed several scars where young parasites are located. Additionally, adult Noctiluca does not feed anymore at this stage.
Phases_alternance: haplontic
Generation: <1 month
Reproduction_mode: asexual
Symbiont: horizontal
Symbiont: horizontal_ingestion
Symbiont: horizontal_active-penetration
Mode of locomotion
Reference(s)
Observation site(s)
HOSTS
Association with... | Region origin | Name of site | In reference... |
---|---|---|---|
Noctiluca scintillans | Alger Bay |
Contribution à l’étude des péridiniens parasites. Cytologie, cycles évolutifs. Ann. Sci. Nat. Zool. 6:1-158. (1964) |