Euduboscquella melo

Super Group: 
Alveolata
Phylum: 
Dinophyta
Class: 
Syndinea
Order: 
Syndiniales
Family: 
Euduboscquellidae
Genus: 
Euduboscquella
Species: 
melo
Cluster: 
MALV I
Authority: 
Cachon 1964
Synonym(s): 
Duboscquella 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

Flagellum_spore:2

Observation site(s)

HOSTS

Displaying 1 - 1 of 1
Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Noctiluca scintillans Alger Bay