A bikont ("two flagella") is any of the eukaryotic organisms classified in the group Bikonta. Many single-celled members of the group, and the presumed ancestor, have two flagella.

Enzymes

Another shared trait of bikonts is the fusion of two genes into a single unit: the genes for

thymidylate synthase Thymidylate synthase (TS) () is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of deoxyuridine monophosphate (dUMP) to deoxythymidine monophosphate (dTMP). Thymidine is one of the nucleotides in DNA. With inhibition of TS, an imbalance of deoxynucle ...

(TS) and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) encode a single protein with two functions. The genes are separately translated in

unikont Amorphea are members of a taxonomic supergroup that includes the basal Amoebozoa and Obazoa. That latter contains the Opisthokonta, which includes the Fungi, Animals and the Choanomonada, or Choanoflagellates. The taxonomic affinities of the mem ...

Relationships

Some research suggests that a unikont (a eukaryotic cell with a single flagellum) was the ancestor of opisthokonts (Animals, Fungi, and related forms) and

Amoebozoa Amoebozoa is a major taxonomic group containing about 2,400 described species of amoeboid protists, often possessing blunt, fingerlike, lobose pseudopods and tubular mitochondrial cristae. In traditional and currently no longer supported classi ...

, and a bikont was the ancestor of

Archaeplastida The Archaeplastida (or kingdom Plantae ''sensu lato'' "in a broad sense"; pronounced /ɑːrkɪ'plastɪdə/) are a major group of eukaryotes, comprising the photoautotrophic red algae (Rhodophyta), green algae, land plants, and the minor group ...

(Plants and relatives),

Excavata Excavata is a major supergroup of unicellular organisms belonging to the domain Eukaryota. It was first suggested by Simpson and Patterson in 1999 and introduced by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in 2002 as a formal taxon. It contains a variety of free- ...

Rhizaria The Rhizaria are an ill-defined but species-rich supergroup of mostly unicellular eukaryotes. Except for the Chlorarachniophytes and three species in the genus Paulinella in the phylum Cercozoa, they are all non-photosynthethic, but many foramin ...

, and

Chromalveolata Chromalveolata was a eukaryote supergroup present in a major classification of 2005, then regarded as one of the six major groups within the eukaryotes. It was a refinement of the kingdom Chromista, first proposed by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in ...

Cavalier-Smith Thomas (Tom) Cavalier-Smith, FRS, FRSC, NERC Professorial Fellow (21 October 1942 – 19 March 2021), was a professor of evolutionary biology in the Department of Zoology, at the University of Oxford. His research has led to discov ...

has suggested that

Apusozoa The Apusozoa are an Obazoa phylum comprising several genera of flagellate eukaryotes. They are usually around 5–20 μm in size, and occur in soils and aquatic habitats, where they feed on bacteria. They are grouped together based on the prese ...

, which are typically considered ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertaint ...

'', are in fact bikonts. Relationships within the bikonts are not yet clear. Cavalier-Smith has grouped the Excavata and Rhizaria into the

Cabozoa In the classification of eukaryotes (living organisms with a cell nucleus), Cabozoa was a taxon proposed by Cavalier-Smith. It was a putative clade comprising the Rhizaria and Excavata. More recent research tends to place the Rhizaria with th ...

and the

and

into the

Corticata Corticata ("one with a cortex"), in the classification of eukaryotes (living organisms with a cell nucleus), is a clade suggested by Thomas Cavalier-Smith to encompass the eukaryote supergroups of the following two groups: * Plantae, or Archaep ...

, but at least one other study has suggested that the

and

form a clade. An alternative to the Unikont–Bikont division was suggested by Derelle ''et al.'' in 2015, where they proposed the

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

s Opimoda–Diphoda respectively, as substitutes to the older terms. The name Diphoda is formed from the letters of DIscoba and diaPHOretickes (shown in capitals).

Cladogram

A "classical" cladogram (data from 2012, 2015) is: However, a cladogram (data from 2015, 2016) with the root in Excavata is The corticates correspond roughly to the bikonts. While

Haptophyta The haptophytes, classified either as the Haptophyta, Haptophytina or Prymnesiophyta (named for '' Prymnesium''), are a clade of algae. The names Haptophyceae or Prymnesiophyceae are sometimes used instead. This ending implies classification at ...

Cryptophyta The cryptophyceae are a class of algae, most of which have plastids. About 220 species are known, and they are common in freshwater, and also occur in marine and brackish habitats. Each cell is around 10–50 μm in size and flattened in shape, ...

, Glaucophyta, Rhodophyta, the SAR supergroup and viridiplantae are usually considered monophyletic,

may be paraphyletic, and the mutual relationships between these phyla are still to be fully resolved. Recent reconstructions placed Archaeplastida and Hacrobia together in an "HA supergroup" or "AH supergroup", which was a sister clade to the SAR supergroup within the SAR/HA supergroup. However, this seems to have fallen out of favor as the monophyly of hacrobia has come under dispute.

Enzymes

Relationships

Cladogram

See also

References

Further reading