Abstract

The entodiniomorphid ciliate Troglodytella abrassarti is a colonic mutualist of great apes. Its host specificity makes it a suitable model for studies of primate evolution. We explored molecular diversity of T. abrassarti with regard to large geographical distribution and taxonomic diversity of its most common host, the chimpanzee. We found a very low diversification of T. abrassarti in chimpanzees across Africa. Distribution of two types of T. abrassarti supports evolutionary separation of the Western chimpanzee, P. t. verus, from populations in Central and East Africa. Type I T. abrassarti is probably a derived form, which corresponds with the Central African origin of chimpanzees and a founder event leading to P. t. verus. Exclusivity of the respective types of T. abrassarti to Western and Central/Eastern chimpanzees corroborates the difference found between an introduced population of presumed Western chimpanzees on Rubondo Island and an autochthonous population in mainland Tanzania. The identity of T. abrassarti from Nigerian P. t. ellioti and Central African chimpanzees suggests their close evolutionary relationship. Although this contrasts with published mtDNA data, it corroborates current opinion on the exclusive position of P. t. verus within the chimpanzee phylogeny. The type of T. abrassarti occurring in Central and East African common chimpanzee was confirmed also in bonobos. This may point to the presence of an ancestral Type II found throughout the Lower Guinean rainforest dating back to the common Pan ancestor. Alternatively, the molecular uniformity of T. abrassarti may imply a historical overlap of the species' distribution ranges.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Vallo P, Petrželková KJ, Profousová I, Petrášová J, Pomajbíková K, Leendertz F, Hashimoto C, Simmons N, Babweteera F, Machanda Z, Piel A, Robbins MM, Boesch C, Sanz C, Morgan D, Sommer V, Furuichi T, Fujita S, Matsuzawa T, Kaur T, Huffman MA, Modrý D

Institution

Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic. vallo@ivb.cz

Source

American journal of physical anthropology 148:4 2012 Aug pg 525-33

MeSH

Africa South of the Sahara
Animals
Ciliophora
Ciliophora Infections
Cluster Analysis
DNA, Protozoan
Evolution, Molecular
Feces
Genetic Variation
Pan troglodytes
Phylogeny
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Species Specificity
Symbiosis

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22576323