Minorisa minuta
Minorisa minuta is a species of marine heterotrophic flagellates that is heavily featured in the eukaryoticpicoplankton of coastal ecosystems.[1]
Etymology
The generic name Minorisa comes from the town Manresa, the birthplace of Javier del Campo, who first described the genus in 2013.[1] The specific epithetminuta, Latin for tiny, refers to the small size of the organism.[1]
Description of organism
Morphology and anatomy
Minorisa minuta is a unicellular organism with naked and spherical, ellipsoid or ovoid cells.[1] They are minuscule, only 1–2.9 micrometers long and 0.8–2.3 micrometers wide.[2] It possesses a single flagellum that can be up to four times its length.[1]Minorisa swims by rotating along its longitudinal axis.
Life cycle
Minorisa minuta has an amoeboid life stage. This amoeboid stage has lobose and extrusive pseudopodia.[2]
Genetics and phylogeny
Molecular phylogenetics places Minorisa minuta at the base of the Chlorarachniophytes.[1]Minorisa is the only heterotrophic representative within the Chlorarachniophytes, which is the only photosynthetic group within the supergroup Rhizaria.[1] It is unknown whether Minorisa posteriorly lost the plastid or whether the lack of a plastid in Minorisa indicates a second instance of acquisition of a green plastid independently in Chlorarachniophytes.[1]