DNA barcoding in amoebozoa and challenges: the example of Cochliopodium.

The diversity of microbial eukaryotes in general and amoeboid lineages in particular is poorly documented. Even though amoeboid lineages are among the most abundant microbes, taxonomic progress in the group has been hindered by the limitations of traditional taxonomy and technical difficultly in studying them. Studies using molecular approaches such as DNA barcoding with cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene are slowly trickling in for Amoebozoa, and they hopefully will aid in unveiling the true diversity of the group. In this study a retrospective approach is used to test the utility of COI gene in a scale-bearing amoeba, Cochliopodium, which is morphologically well defined. A total of 126 COI sequences and 62 unique haplotypes were generated from 9 Cochliopodium species. Extensive analyses exploring effects of sequence evolution models and length of sequence on genetic diversity computations were conducted. The findings show that COI is a promising marker for Cochliopodium, except in one case where it failed to delineate two morphologically well-defined cochliopodiums. Two species delimitation approaches also recognize 8 genetic lineages out of 9 species examined. The taxonomic implications of these findings and factors that may confound COI as a barcode marker in Cochliopodium and other amoebae are discussed.