Two new species of dictyostelid cellular slime molds from Alaska

• In sampling soils to survey dictyostelid cellular slime molds in Alaska we encountered two groups of isolates that have morphologies that differ from any previously described species within their group. We sequenced the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU rDNA) of selected isolates from the two groups and found sequences from both groups to be distinct from all previously described dictyostelid sequences. Phylogenetic analyses place one novel species in dictyostelid Group 2 and the other in Group 4 (Schaap et al. 2006). In this paper we formally describe as new these two species of cellular slime molds, Dictyostelium ammophilum sp. nov. and Dictyostelium borealesp. nov., based on the combination of morphological and molecular characters.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Biologisk systematik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Biological Systematics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Alaska

cellular slime molds

molecular data

morphology

taxonomy

Systematics and phylogenetics

Systematik och fylogeni

Biologi med inriktning mot systematik

Biology with specialization in Systematics

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)