Morpholgy and molecular phylogeny of three Paramecium species (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) from Van, Türkiye

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In this study, three Paramecium species (P. bursaria, P. aurelia complex sp., P. multimicronucleatum) were isolated from Van (Türkiye) and investigated morphologically and molecular phylogenetically based on SSU rDNA gene sequence. These ciliates were morphologically similar to previously described populations. Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the SSU rDNA gene region of the isolated ciliates revealed complete or high similarity with other populations. One population isolated in this study was very closely related to sister species in the P. aurelia complex in terms of morphological and molecular characters. However, the morphological characters and SSU rDNA nucleotide sequence did not exactly match any previously described population. Therefore, this population is reported as P. aurelia complex sp. In addition, this study is the first molecular phylogenetic study on Paramecium species in Türkiye and the nucleotide sequences of SSU rDNA gene of these species were recorded to GenBank for the first time.