Culture and phylogenetic characterization of Trichomitus trypanoides Duboscq & Grassè 1924, n. comb.: a trichomonad flagellate isolated from the hindgut of the termite Reticulitermes santonensis Feytaud.

A trichomonad flagellate strain R1 was isolated from the hindgut contents of the termite Reticulitermes santonensis Feytaud. The flagellate was cultivated at 28 degrees C in anaerobic medium containing yeast extract, minerals and vitamins. The isolate fed on living bacteria. It showed the typical morphological and ultrastructural features of the trichomonads, closely resembling Trichomitus trypanoides. In order to determine its phylogenetic position the small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) of the flagellate was amplified in vitro using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), cloned in a plasmid vector and sequenced. Comparison of the obtained sequence with so far available SSU rRNA/rDNA sequences showed strongest similarity (89%) to the sequence of Tritrichomonas foetus. The phylogenetic analysis with parsimony and distance matrix methods placed Trichomitus trypanoides strain R1 near by the root of the phylogenetically so far analyzed eukaryotic organisms. This confirms that termites harbour hindgut symbionts, which originate from very early evolved eukaryotes.