2026-10-06T17:40:16Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33283026 2026-09-15T13:37:55Z category_24358 category_24262 category_24268 category_24271 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<b>Diversification and hybridization within the </b><b><i>Spirochona gemmipara</i></b><b> complex driven by gammarid host range shifts</b> Klára Bukovinská (24593367) Ivan Rurik (10990968) Peter Vdacny (24416642) Microbial ecology Host-parasite interactions Microbial taxonomy Phylogeny and comparative analysis Bayesian species delimitation Coevolution Multigene phylogenetic approach Multidimensional morphometric analyses <p dir="ltr">Hybridising multispecies complexes represent understudied genetic systems within unicellular eukaryotes. Using integrated morphological, morphometric, and multilocus phylogenetic data, we show that <i>Spirochona gemmipara</i>, a widespread ciliate epibiont of European freshwater gammarids, constitutes a hybridising network of at least nine mitochondrial lineages forming a sympatric multispecies syngameon. Time-calibrated phylogenies indicate that its five main lineages originated in the Miocene through allopatric divergence on isolated European palaeoislands colonised independently by freshwater gammarids. Subsequent reconnection of continental freshwater systems following the regression of the Paratethys Sea enabled secondary contact and hybridisation among emerging <i>S. gemmipara</i>-like species, with later Pleistocene range shifts likely maintaining compatibility within the syngameon. Discordant mitochondrial signals within the syngameon are consistent with heteroplasmy and may also reflect phylogenetic noise or NUMTs, and only tentatively suggest the possibility of mitogenome recombination. This added complexity underscores the need for whole-genome analyses to clarify mechanisms driving mitochondrial diversity and hybridisation in ciliates.</p> 2026-09-15T13:37:55Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33283026.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_b_Diversification_and_hybridization_within_the_b_b_i_Spirochona_gemmipara_i_b_b_complex_driven_by_gammarid_host_range_shifts_b_/33283026 CC BY 4.0