Gomes E Souza, M. B. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2025

Pyrumthecina Infraorder Nov.: Revisiting the morphological diversity and identifying the phylogenetic home of Argynnia within Arcellinida (Tubulinea:Amoebozoa)

Arcellinida is a diverse lineage of testate amoebae within Amoebozoa, whose evolutionary history has been clarified through phylogenomics. These efforts have led to a stable classification of the group into suborders and infraorders. However, several taxa, such as the genus Argynnia, remain unplaced due to ambiguous morphology and unresolved positions in single-gene phylogenies. In this study, we explore the diversity of Argynnia by presenting new records of species sampled across Brazil. To address its longstanding taxonomic uncertainty, we performed a phylogenomic analysis incorporating transcriptomic data from the Protist 10,000 Genomes isolate P10K-MW-000941 (P10K941). Through single-gene phylogenies, this isolate was shown to be closely related to Argynnia, which previously lacked genomic-level data. Here, we further confirm this relationship and present a 227-gene phylogenomic reconstruction that identifies the placement of P10K941 within Arcellinida, thereby resolving the phylogenetic placement of Argynnia. We obtained a curated, contaminant-free phylogenomic dataset for Arcellinida, including the P10K941, through the PhyloFisher workflow. Our analysis recovers P10K941 as a well-supported long-branch, sister to the infraorder Longithecina. Given this phylogenomic placement, along with Argynnias characteristic morphology and the consistent results of single-marker analyses placing it outside existing infraorders, we propose the Pyrumthecina infraorder novum and the family Argynniidae family novum to accommodate the P10K941 isolate and all Argynnia species. These findings resolve the phylogenetic position of Argynnia and allow for interpreting shell evolution and deep diversification patterns within Arcellinida. The recognition of Pyrumthecina also highlights the likely existence of deeply branching lineages among arcellinid taxa currently classified as incertae sedis.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Amoebozoan testate amoebae illuminate the diversity of heterotrophs and the complexity of ecosystems throughout geological time

Heterotrophic protists are vital in Earths ecosystems, influencing carbon and nutrient cycles and occupying key positions in food webs as microbial predators. Fossils and molecular data suggest the emergence of predatory microeukaryotes and the transition to a eukaryote-rich marine environment by 800 million years ago (Ma). Neoproterozoic vase-shaped microfossils (VSMs) linked to Arcellinida testate amoebae represent the oldest evidence of heterotrophic microeukaryotes. This study explores the phylogenetic relationship and divergence times of modern Arcellinida and related taxa using a relaxed molecular clock approach. We estimate the origin of nodes leading to extant members of the Arcellinida Order to have happened during the latest Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic (1054 - 661 Ma), while the divergence of extant infraorders postdates the Silurian. Our results demonstrate that at least one major heterotrophic eukaryote lineage originated during the Neoproterozoic. A putative radiation of eukaryotic groups (e.g. Arcellinida) during the early-Neoproterozoic sustained by favorable ecological and environmental conditions may have contributed to eukaryotic life endurance during the Cryogenian severe ice ages. Moreover, we infer that Arcellinida most likely already inhabited terrestrial habitats during the Neoproterozoic, coexisting with terrestrial Fungi and green algae, before land plant radiation. The most recent extant Arcellinida groups diverged during the Silurian Period, alongside other taxa within Fungi and flowering plants. These findings shed light on heterotrophic microeukaryotes evolutionary history and ecological significance in Earths ecosystems, using testate amoebae as a proxy. Significance StatementArcellinida shelled amoebae are heterotrophic microbial eukaryotes with an extensive Neoproterozoic fossil record represented by the vase-shaped microfossils (VSMs), a diverse group that is abundant and widespread in late Tonian rocks (VSMs). Here we combined phylogenomic sampling and the fossil record to generate time-calibrated trees. Our results illuminate key events in the history of life, including: i) the Tonian origin of extant microbial eukaryote lineages; ii) a speculative proposed radiation of eukaryotes before the Cryogenian, "Tonian revolution"; iii) the establishment of complex terrestrial habitats before the Cryogenian; iv) a post-Silurian divergence of modern Arcellinida sub-clades in terrestrial (including freshwater) habitats. Our results provide valuable insights into the evolution of life throughout geological time and are congruent with recent discoveries regarding the early diversification of eukaryotes, including the Precambrian history of eukaryotic protosteroids.

evolutionary biology↗