Leptomonas peterhoffi Podlipaev, 1985

Literature:

Podlipaev S.A. (1985) New species of lower trypanosomatids from the heteropteran families Gerridae and Nabidae: life cycle stages in nature and in laboratory culture. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute 129:35-47 (In Russian).

Podlipaev S.A, Filatov M.V., Pantina R.A. (1991) Comparative investigation of DNA content and molecular caryotypes of lower trypanosomatids from bugs in North-West USSR. Parazitologija (St.Petersburg), v. 25, # 3, p. 250-257 (In Russian).

Bulat S.A., Mokrousov I. V., Podlipaev S.A. (1999) Classification of trypanosomatids from insects and plants by the UP-PCR (Universally Primed PCR) technique and cross dor blot hybridization of PCR products. Europ. J. Protistol. 35:319-326.

Podlipaev S. A., Naumov A.D. (2000) Colonies of trypanosomatids on agar plates: the tool for differentiation of the species and isolates. Protistology 1:113-119.

Merzlyak E. et al. (2001) Diversity and phylogeny of insect trypanosomatids based on small subunit rRNA genes: polyphyly of Leptomonas and Blastocrithidia. J. Eukaryot. Microbiol. 48:161-169. Medline; PDF

Georgaphic distribution and biotope: The hemiptrean host Nabis (Nabicula) flavomarginatus Scholtz 1847 (family Nabidae) is broadly distributed in the Palearctic region. The hosts are usually found in the grass in the open landscape and near bodies of water. The original isolate (type culture) was obtained in the North-West of Russia (Peterhoff near St.Petersburg) in 1980.

General morphology in host and culture: Cells in the host intestine are typical promastigotes, approximately 13 micrometers in length. Cells in culture are shorter, oval or droplet-like. Most cells are promastigotes but endomastigotes (more typical for Wallaceins) are also found.

Two types of colonies are formed on agar media: spheric and irregular (amoeboid). This character is inheritable and may indicate a heterogeneity of the original culture.

Ultrastructure: (images currently unavailable). A putative bacterial endosymbiont was identified by TEM but this requires a confirmation.

Genotyping and molecular phylogenetic classification. The UP-PCR data (Bulat et al., 1999) show L. peterhoffi to be related not to other leptomonads but Blastocrithidia gerricola and Wallaceina spp. The latter finding is consistent with the presence of endomastigotes in L. peterhoffi.

Only a few sequences available include SSU rRNA and glycosomal GAPDH. Miniexon gene sequence determination is in progress.

The rRNA SSU tree of the Trypanosomatidae family shows L. peterhoffi among other members of the 'slowly-evolving' (with regard to the SSU RNA) clade. The tree derived from the complete SSU sequences confirms that L. peterhoffi is most related to B. gerricola and Wallaceina spp.