Excavata

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Excavata
Temporal range: Neoproterozoic–present
Giardia lamblia.jpg
Giardia lamblia , a parasitic diplomonad
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
(obsolete as paraphyletic)
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Excavata
(Cavalier-Smith), 2002
Phyla and classes

see text

Three types of excavate cells. Top: Jakobida, 1-nucleus, 2-anterior flagellum, 3-ventral/posterior flagellum, 4-ventral feeding groove. Middle: Euglenozoa, 1-nucleus, 2-flagellar pocket/reservoir, 3-dorsal/anterior flagellum, 4-ventral/posterior flagellum, 5-cytostome/feeding apparatus. Bottom: Metamonada, 1-anterior flagella, 2-parabasal body, 3-undulating membrane, 4-posterior flagellum, 5-nucleus, 6-axostyle. Excavata cell schemes.svg
Three types of excavate cells. Top: Jakobida, 1-nucleus, 2-anterior flagellum, 3-ventral/posterior flagellum, 4-ventral feeding groove. Middle: Euglenozoa, 1-nucleus, 2-flagellar pocket/reservoir, 3-dorsal/anterior flagellum, 4-ventral/posterior flagellum, 5-cytostome/feeding apparatus. Bottom: Metamonada, 1-anterior flagella, 2-parabasal body, 3-undulating membrane, 4-posterior flagellum, 5-nucleus, 6-axostyle.

Excavata is an extensive and diverse but paraphyletic group of unicellular Eukaryota. [1] [2] The group was first suggested by Simpson and Patterson in 1999 [3] [4] and the name latinized and assigned a rank by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in 2002. It contains a variety of free-living and symbiotic protists, and includes some important parasites of humans such as Giardia and Trichomonas . [5] Excavates were formerly considered to be included in the now obsolete Protista kingdom. [6] They were distinguished from other lineages based on electron-microscopic information about how the cells are arranged (they have a distinctive ultrastructural identity). [4] They are considered to be a basal flagellate lineage. [7]

Contents

On the basis of phylogenomic analyses, the group was shown to contain three widely separated eukaryote groups, the discobids, metamonads, and malawimonads. [8] [9] [10] [11] A current view of the composition of the excavates is given below, indicating that the group is paraphyletic. Except for some Euglenozoa, all are non-photosynthetic.

Characteristics

Most excavates are unicellular, heterotrophic flagellates. Only some Euglenozoa are photosynthetic. In some (particularly anaerobic intestinal parasites), the mitochondria have been greatly reduced. [5] Some excavates lack "classical" mitochondria, and are called "amitochondriate", although most retain a mitochondrial organelle in greatly modified form (e.g. a hydrogenosome or mitosome). Among those with mitochondria, the mitochondrial cristae may be tubular, discoidal, or in some cases, laminar. Most excavates have two, four, or more flagella. [4] Many have a conspicuous ventral feeding groove with a characteristic ultrastructure, supported by microtubules—the "excavated" appearance of this groove giving the organisms their name. [3] [6] However, various groups that lack these traits are considered to be derived excavates based on genetic evidence (primarily phylogenetic trees of molecular sequences). [6]

The Acrasidae slime molds are the only excavates to exhibit limited multicellularity. Like other cellular slime molds, they live most of their life as single cells, but will sometimes assemble into larger clusters.

Proposed group

Excavate relationships were always uncertain, suggesting that they are not a monophyletic group. [12] Phylogenetic analyses often do not place malawimonads on the same branch as the other Excavata. [13]

Excavates were thought to include multiple groups:

Kingdom/SuperphylumIncluded taxaRepresentative genera (examples)Description
Discoba or JEH or Eozoa Tsukubea Tsukubamonas
Euglenozoa Euglena ,  Trypanosoma Many important parasites, one large group with plastids (chloroplasts)
Heterolobosea  (Percolozoa) Naegleria , Acrasis Most alternate between flagellate and amoeboid forms
Jakobea Jakoba , Reclinomonas Free-living, sometimes loricate flagellates, with very gene-rich mitochondrial genomes
Metamonada  or POD Preaxostyla Oxymonads, Trimastix Amitochondriate flagellates, either free-living ( Trimastix , Paratrimastix) or living in the hindguts of insects
Fornicata Giardia , Carpediemonas Amitochondriate, mostly symbiotes and parasites of animals.
Parabasalia Trichomonas Amitochondriate flagellates, generally intestinal commensals of insects. Some human pathogens.
Anaeramoeba Anaeramoeba ignavaAnaerobic protists with hydrogenosomes instead of mitochondria.
Neolouka Malawimonadida Malawimonas

Discoba or JEH clade

Euglenozoa and Heterolobosea (Percolozoa) or Eozoa (as named by Cavalier-Smith [14] ) appear to be particularly close relatives, and are united by the presence of discoid cristae within the mitochondria (Superphylum Discicristata). A close relationship has been shown between Discicristata and Jakobida, [15] the latter having tubular cristae like most other protists, and hence were united under the taxon name Discoba, which was proposed for this apparently monophyletic group. [1]

Metamonads

Metamonads are unusual in not having classical mitochondria—instead they have hydrogenosomes, mitosomes or uncharacterised organelles. The oxymonad Monocercomonoides is reported to have completely lost homologous organelles. There are competing explanations. [16] [17]

Malawimonads

The malawimonads have been proposed to be members of Excavata owing to their typical excavate morphology, and phylogenetic affinity to other excavate groups in some molecular phylogenies. However, their position among eukaryotes remains elusive. [2]

Ancyromonads

Ancyromonads are small free-living cells with a narrow longitudinal groove down one side of the cell. The ancyromonad groove is not used for "suspension feeding", unlike in "typical excavates" (e.g. malawimonads, jakobids, Trimastix, Carpediemonas, Kiperferlia, etc). Ancyromonads instead capture prokaryotes attached to surfaces. The phylogenetic placement of ancyromonads is poorly understood (in 2020), however some phylogenetic analyses place them as close relatives of malawimonads. [9]

Evolution

Origin of the Eukaryotes

The conventional explanation for the origin of the Eukaryotes is that a heimdallarchaeian or another Archaea acquired an alphaproteobacterium [18] as an endosymbiont, and that this became the mitochondrion, the organelle providing oxidative respiration to the eukaryotic cell. [19]

Caesar al Jewari and Sandra Baldauf argue instead that the Eukaryotes possibly started with an endosymbiosis event of a Deltaproteobacterium or Gammaproteobacterium, accounting for the otherwise unexplained presence of anaerobic bacterial enzymes in Metamonada. The sister of the Preaxostyla within Metamonada represents the rest of the Eukaryotes which acquired an Alphaproteobacterium. In their scenario, the hydrogenosome and mitosome, both conventionally considered "mitochondrion-derived organelles", would predate the mitochondrion, and instead be derived from the earlier symbiotic bacterium. [17]

Phylogeny

In 2023, using molecular phylogenetic analysis of 186 taxa, Al Jewari and Baldauf proposed a phylogenetic tree with the metamonad Parabasalia as basal Eukaryotes. Discoba and the rest of the Eukaryota appear to have emerged as sister taxon to the Preaxostyla, incorporating a single alphaproteobacterium as mitochondria by endosymbiosis. Thus the Fornicata are more closely related to e.g. animals than to Parabasalia. The rest of the Eukaryotes emerged within the Excavata as sister of the Discoba; as they are within the same clade but are not cladistically considered part of the Excavata yet, the Excavata are in this analysis highly paraphyletic. [17]

Hodarchaeales [19]

Eukaryota

Parabasalia

Fornicata

Preaxostyla

Discoba

Jakobida

Heterolobosea

Euglenozoa and allies

Neokaryotes

Amorphea (inc. animals, fungi)

SAR

Archaeplastida (inc. plants)

+ αproteobacterium
+ δ/γproteobacterium
"Excavata"

The Anaeramoeba are associated with Parabasalia, but could turn out to be more basal as the root of a tree is often difficult to pinpoint. [20]

See also

Metakaryota

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parabasalid</span> Group of flagellated protists

The parabasalids are a group of flagellated protists within the supergroup Excavata. Most of these eukaryotic organisms form a symbiotic relationship in animals. These include a variety of forms found in the intestines of termites and cockroaches, many of which have symbiotic bacteria that help them digest cellulose in woody plants. Other species within this supergroup are known parasites, and include human pathogens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metamonad</span> Phylum of excavate protists

The metamonads are a large group of flagellate amitochondriate microscopic eukaryotes. Their composition is not entirely settled, but they include the retortamonads, diplomonads, and possibly the parabasalids and oxymonads as well. These four groups are all anaerobic, occurring mostly as symbiotes or parasites of animals, as is the case with Giardia lamblia which causes diarrhea in mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discicristata</span> Taxonomic clade

Discicristata is a proposed eukaryotic clade. It consists of Euglenozoa plus Percolozoa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogenosome</span> Mitochondrion-derived organelle

A hydrogenosome is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in some anaerobic ciliates, flagellates, and fungi. Hydrogenosomes are highly variable organelles that have presumably evolved from protomitochondria to produce molecular hydrogen and ATP in anaerobic conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bikont</span> Group of eukaryotes

A bikont is any of the eukaryotic organisms classified in the group Bikonta. Many single-celled and multi-celled organisms are members of the group, and these, as well as the presumed ancestor, have two flagella.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malawimonadidae</span> Family of protists

Malawimonadidae is a family of unicellular eukaryotes of outsize importance in understanding eukaryote phylogeny.

<i>Breviata</i> Genus of flagellated amoebae

Breviata anathema is a single-celled flagellate amoeboid eukaryote, previously studied under the name Mastigamoeba invertens. The cell lacks mitochondria, much like the pelobionts to which the species was previously assigned, but has remnant mitochondrial genes, and possesses an organelle believed to be a modified anaerobic mitochondrion, similar to the mitosomes and hydrogenosomes found in other eukaryotes that live in low-oxygen environments.

Carpediemonas is genus of Metamonada, and belongs to the group Excavata. This organism is a unicellular flagellated eukaryote that was first discovered in substrate samples from the Great Barrier Reef. Carpediemonas can be found in anaerobic intertidal sediment, where it feeds on bacteria. A feature of this species is the presence of a feeding groove, a characteristic of the excavates. Like most other metamonads, Carpediemonas does not rely on an aerobic mitochondrion to produce energy. Instead, it contains hydrogenosomes that are used to produce ATP. This organism has two flagella: a posterior one used for feeding on the substrate, and an anterior one that moves in a slower sweeping motion. Carpediemonas is assigned to the fornicates, where similar Carpediemonas-like organisms are used in researching the evolution within excavates. Although Carpediemonas is a member of the metamonads, it is unusual in the sense that it is free-living and has three basal bodies.

Anaeromonadea is a class of excavates, comprising the oxymonads and Trimastix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loukozoa</span> Proposed taxon

Loukozoa is a proposed taxon used in some classifications of eukaryotes, consisting of the Metamonada and Malawimonadea. Ancyromonads are closely related to this group, as sister of the entire group, or as sister of the Metamonada. Amorphea may have emerged in this grouping, specifically as sister of the Malawimonads.

<i>Malawimonas</i> Genus of micro-organisms

Malawimonas is genus of unicellular, heterotrophic flagellates with uncertain phylogenetic affinities. They have variably being assigned to Excavata and Loukozoa. Recent studies suggest they may be closely related to the Podiata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakobid</span>

Jakobids are an order of free-living, heterotrophic, flagellar eukaryotes in the supergroup Excavata. They are small, and can be found in aerobic and anaerobic environments. The order Jakobida, believed to be monophyletic, consists of only twenty species at present, and was classified as a group in 1993. There is ongoing research into the mitochondrial genomes of jakobids, which are unusually large and bacteria-like, evidence that jakobids may be important to the evolutionary history of eukaryotes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diaphoretickes</span> Taxon of eukaryotes

Diaphoretickes is a major group of eukaryotic organisms, with over 400,000 species. The majority of the earth's biomass that carries out photosynthesis belongs to Diaphoretickes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eukaryote</span> Domain of life whose cells have nuclei

The eukaryotes constitute the domain of Eukarya, organisms whose cells have a membrane-bound nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms are eukaryotes. They constitute a major group of life forms alongside the two groups of prokaryotes: the Bacteria and the Archaea. Eukaryotes represent a small minority of the number of organisms, but given their generally much larger size, their collective global biomass is much larger than that of prokaryotes.

The superkingdom Metakaryota was defined by Thomas Cavalier-Smith as advanced eukaryotes resulting from the endosymbiosis of a proteobacterium, giving rise to the mitochondrion, by an archezoan eukaryote. However, with the collapse of the Archezoa hypothesis, this grouping was abandoned in later schemes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neokaryotes</span> Eukaryote clade consisting of most protists

The neokaryotes are a proposed eukaryote clade consisting of the unikonts and the bikonts as sister of for instance the Jakobea. It arises because the Euglenozoa, Percolozoa, Tsukubea, and Jakobea are seen in this view as more basal eukaryotes. These four groups, are traditionally grouped together in the Discoba. However, the Discoba may well be paraphyletic as the neokaryotes may have emerged in them.

Anaeramoeba is a genus of anaerobic protists of uncertain phylogenetic position, first described in 2016.

A supergroup, in evolutionary biology, is a large group of organisms that share one common ancestor and have important defining characteristics. It is an informal, mostly arbitrary rank in biological taxonomy that is often greater than phylum or kingdom, although some supergroups are also treated as phyla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malawimonad</span> Order of flagellates

Malawimonads are a small group of microorganisms with a basal position in the evolutionary tree of eukaryotes, containing only three recognized species. They're considered part of a possibly paraphyletic group known as "Excavata".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stygiellidae</span> Family of saltwater protists

Stygiellidae is a family of free-living marine flagellates belonging to the order Jakobida, a deep-branching lineage within the eukaryotic supergroup Discoba. They are unicellular organisms that commonly inhabit anoxic, sulfide-rich and ammonium-rich marine habitats worldwide.

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