New Paramecium quadecaurelia strains (P. aurelia spp. complex, Ciliophora) identified by molecular markers (rDNA and mtDNA)

Paramecium quadecaurelia is a rare species (previously known only from two locations) belonging to the P. aurelia species complex. In the present paper, fragments of an rDNA gene (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-5′ rDNA) and mtDNA genes (cytochrome oxidase subunit I and cytochrome b regions) were employed to assist in the identification and characterization of three new strains collected from Ecuador and Thailand. Molecular data were confirmed by mating reactions. In rDNA and mtDNA trees constructed for species of the P. aurelia complex, all P. quadecaurelia strains, including the three new strains discussed in this study and two known previously from Australia and Africa, form a monophyletic but differentiated clade. The present study shows that genetic differentiation among the strains of P. quadecaurelia is equal to or even greater than the distances between some other P. aurelia species, e.g., P. primaurelia and P. pentaurelia. Such great intra-specific differentiation may indicate a future splitting of the P. quadecaurelia species into reproductively isolated lines.