- Source: Vampyrellidae
The family Vampyrellidae is a subgroup of the order Vampyrellida (or Aconchulinida) within the supergroup Rhizaria. Based on molecular sequence data, the family currently comprises the genus Vampyrella, and maybe several other vampyrellid amoebae (e.g. Gobiella). The cells are naked and characterised by radiating, filose pseudopodia (also referred to as filopodia) and an orange colouration of the main cell body.
In former times the family Vampyrellidae contained several genera (e.g. Vampyrella, Gobiella, Leptophrys, Platyreta, Theratromyxa) and was identical with the order Vampyrellida, also known under the name "Aconchulinida". However, based on molecular sequence data the family Vampyrellidae was restricted to a subgroup containing only the genus Vampyrella, and a different family Leptophryidae was established for the genera Leptophrys, Platyreta and Theratromyxa.
Characteristics
When free-floating, the cell is spherical and around 30 μm across, with long radially directed filose pseudopods as well as distinctive shorter club-shaped ones, so that it resembles a heliozoan. Moving, the cell stretches out and takes a more typical amoeboid form, with an obvious distinction between the clear periphery and pseudopods and the greenish interior. In this form it finds its way into algae cells and feeds on their interiors. At least one genus, Theratromyxa, also feeds on soil nematodes. A few other vampyrellids are parasitic on fungi. As such, these vampyrellids can be an important control of parasitic rust fungus of wheat and other crops.
Vampyrellids characteristically have mitochondria with tubular cristae. Together with the nucleariids they include the majority of the naked filose amoebae.
Systematics and phylogeny
= Genera and species
=There are at least 19 credibly described species that are either proved or likely to belong to the family Vampyrellidae, all of them belonging to the genus Vampyrella.
Vampyrella Cienkowski 1865. 19 species.
Vampyrella agilis Penard 1890
Vampyrella atheyae Zyloff 1903
Vampyrella closterii Poisson & Mangenot 1933=Gobiella closterii Röpstorf et al. 1994
Vampyrella euglenae Dangeard 1886
Vampyrella flabellata Cash 1904
Vampyrella gomphonematis Haeckel 1870
Vampyrella helioproteus Engelmann 1882
Vampyrella incolor de Bruyne 1890
Vampyrella inermis Klein 1882
Vampyrella lateritia (Fresenius 1856) Leidy 1879= Amoeba lateritia Fresenius 1856= Vampyrella spirogyrae Cienkowski 1865
Vampyrella mirabilis Dangeard 1935
Vampyrella multiformis Zopf 1885
Vampyrella pallida Moebius 1888= Vampyrina pallida (Moebius 1888) Frenzel 1897
Vampyrella peritrichophaga Dangeard 1886
Vampyrella polyblasta Sorokin 1876
Vampyrella radiosa Penard 1890
Vampyrella soror Shouteden 1905
Vampyrella ulothricis Scherffel 1935
Vampyrella variabilis Klein 1882
= Phylogenetic tree
=The following cladogram depicts the relationships between Vampyrellidae and other vampyrellid families. Of the 19 species, only 2 species of Vampyrella have been genetically sequenced, which limits the information on the internal relationships of the genus.
References
External links
Röpstorf, Peter; Hülsmann, Norbert; Hausmann, Klaus (1994). "Comparative fine structural investigations of interphase and mitotic nuclei of vampyrellid filose amoebae". Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 41 (1): 18–30. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.1994.tb05930.x. S2CID 84357480.
http://starcentral.mbl.edu/microscope/portal.php?pagetitle=assetfactsheet&imageid=932
http://tolweb.org/tree?group=The_other_protists&contgroup=Eukaryotes