The apusomonads (family Apusomonadidae) are a group of protozoanzooflagellates that glide on surfaces, and mostly consume prokaryotes. They are of particular evolutionary interest because they appear to be the sister group to the Opisthokonts, the clade that includes both animals and fungi. Together with the Breviatea, these form the Obazoa clade.[3][4][5]
Apusomonads are small glidingheterotrophicbiflagellates (i.e. with two flagella) that possess a proboscis, formed partly or entirely by the anterior flagellum surrounded by a membranous sleeve. There is a pellicle under the dorsal cell membrane that extends into the proboscis sleeve and into a skirt that covers the sides of the cell. Apusomonads present two different cell plans:[6]
"Amastigomonas-like" cell plan, with an oval or oblong cell that generally forms pseudopodia from the ventral surface, with no mastigophore, and the proboscis comprising solely the flagellum and the sleeve. These characteristics are considered 'primitive' or 'ancestral' in comparison with Apusomonas. Organisms with this body plan, although historically assigned to the same genus Amastigomonas, are a paraphyletic group from which Apusomonas has evolved.[6][7]
The apusomonads are the sister group to Opisthokonta, the lineage that includes animals, fungi and an array of related protists. Because of this, apusomonads occupy an important phylogenetic position to understand eukaryotic evolution. They retain ancestral characteristics, such as the biflagellatebody plan, which in opisthokonts evolves into a uniflagellate plan.[7]
Apusomonads are vital to understanding multicellularity. Genes involved in multicellularity have been found in the apusomonad Thecamonas,[8] such as adhesion proteins, calcium-signaling genes and types of sodium channels characteristic of animals.[6] The genome of the strain "Amastigomonas sp." presents the integrin-mediated adhesion machinery, the primary cell-matrix adhesion mechanism seen in Metazoa (animals).[9]
^ abCavalier-Smith, Thomas (May 2013). "Early evolution of eukaryote feeding modes, cell structural diversity, and classification of the protozoan phyla Loukozoa, Sulcozoa, and Choanozoa". European Journal of Protistology. 49 (2): 115–178 Document online. doi:10.1016/j.ejop.2012.06.001. ISSN0932-4739. PMID23085100.
^ abCavalier-Smith, Thomas; Chao, Ema E. (October 2010). "Phylogeny and evolution of Apusomonadida (Protozoa: Apusozoa): new genera and species". Protist. 161 (4): 549–576. doi:10.1016/j.protis.2010.04.002. PMID20537943.
^ abcdeHeiss AA, Lee WJ, Ishida KI, Simpson AG (2015). "Cultivation and Characterisation of New Species of Apusomonads (the Sister Group to Opisthokonts), Including Close Relatives of Thecamonas (Chelonemonas n. gen.)". Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 62 (5): 637–649. doi:10.1111/jeu.12220. PMID25912654.
^ abcdefTorruella G, Galindo LJ, Moreira D, Ciobanu M, Heiss AA, Yubuki N, et al. (November 2022). "Expanding the molecular and morphological diversity of Apusomonadida, a deep-branching group of gliding bacterivorous protists". Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 70 (2): e12956. doi:10.1111/jeu.12956. hdl:2117/404026.
^Adl SM, Bass D, Lane CE, Lukeš J, Schoch CL, Smirnov A, Agatha S, Berney C, Brown MW, Burki F, Cárdenas P, Čepička I, Chistyakova L, del Campo J, Dunthorn M, Edvardsen B, Eglit Y, Guillou L, Hampl V, Heiss AA, Hoppenrath M, James TY, Karnkowska A, Karpov S, Kim E, Kolisko M, Kudryavtsev A, Lahr DJG, Lara E, Le Gall L, Lynn DH, Mann DG, Massana R, Mitchell EAD, Morrow C, Park JS, Pawlowski JW, Powell MJ, Richter DJ, Rueckert S, Shadwick L, Shimano S, Spiegel FW, Torruella G, Youssef N, Zlatogursky V, Zhang Q (2019). "Revisions to the Classification, Nomenclature, and Diversity of Eukaryotes". Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 66 (1): 4–119. doi:10.1111/jeu.12691. PMC6492006. PMID30257078.
