Ministeria vibrans | |
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Ministeria vibrans | |
Scientific classification | |
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Genus: | Patterson, Nygaard, Steinberg & Turley, 1993 [1] |
Species: | M. vibrans |
Binomial name | |
Ministeria vibrans Tong, 1997 | |
Ministeria vibrans is a bacterivorous amoeba with filopodia that lives suspended by a flagellum-derived stalk attached to the substrate. [2] The life cycle of Ministeria remains unknown.
Two Ministeria species have been reported so far, [3] both of them from coastal marine water samples: M. vibrans and M. marisola. [1] However, there is currently only one culture available, that of Ministeria vibrans.
M. vibrans occupies a key position in understanding animal origins. It is a member of the Filasterea, that is the sister-group to Choanoflagellatea and Metazoa. [2] [4] Microvilli in Ministeria suggest their presence in the common ancestor of Filasterea and Choanoflagellata. The kinetid structure of Ministeria is similar to that of the choanocytes of the most deep-branching sponges, differing essentially from the kinetid of choanoflagellates. Thus, kinetid and microvilli of Ministeria illustrate features of the common ancestor of three holozoan groups: Filasterea, Metazoa, and Choanoflagellata. [5]