''Paramecium sonneborni'' is a species of
unicellular
A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that consists of a single cell, unlike a multicellular organism that consists of multiple cells. Organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and ...
organisms belonging to the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Paramecium
''
''Paramecium'' ( , ; also spelled ''Paramoecium'') is a genus of eukaryotic, unicellular ciliates, commonly studied as a representative of the ciliate group. ''Paramecia'' are widespread in freshwater, brackish, and marine environments and a ...
'' of the
phylum
In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature f ...
Ciliophora
The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a different ...
.
It was first isolated in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and named after
Tracy M. Sonneborn. It is a member of the ''
Paramecium aurelia
''Paramecium aurelia'' are unicellular organisms belonging to the genus ''Paramecium'' of the phylum Ciliophora. They are covered in cilia which help in movement and feeding.''Paramecium'' can reproduce sexually, asexually, or by the process ...
''
species complex
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
. They are covered in cilia and are distinguished by their difference in mating patterns and enzyme patterns. The length of ''Paramecium sonneborni'' is between 130 and 186 μm with a mean length of 154μm.
It is the newest member of the Paramecium aurelia species complex. The current Paramecium sonneborni strains, so far, reveal very low viability in the generations and are a result of allopatric speciation.
References
2. Przyboś, E., Tarcz, S., Rautian, M., & Sawka, N. (2015). Delimiting species boundaries within a PARAPHYLETIC SPECIES Complex: Insights from MORPHOLOGICAL, genetic, and molecular data on PARAMECIUM SONNEBORNI (Paramecium Aurelia species complex, Ciliophora, Protozoa). Protist, 166(4), 438-456. doi:10.1016/j.protis.2015.07.001
3. Sonneborn, T. (1970). Chapter 12 methods In PARAMECIUM RESEARCH. Methods in Cell Biology, 241-339. doi:10.1016/s0091-679x(08)61758-6
Further reading
External links
*
NCBI entry
Oligohymenophorea
Species described in 1983
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