Habitat specificity of Spumella-like flagellates including a revision of colourless flagellates affiliated with the chrysophycean C-Cluster

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Heterotrophic heterokonts, and specifically Spumella-like chrysomonads, are among the most abundant planktonic protists and among the most important grazers of bacteria-sized microorganisms. Even though protist diversity is tremendous, taxonomy has typically been coarse and flexible. Further, due to the historic classification of microorganisms in either animals or plants the taxonomic notation even at higher taxonomic levels is not consistent, i.e., the botanical (Chrysophyceae) and zoological (Chrysomonadida) nomenclature differs. As Spumella (=Monas) is one of the first ever described protist taxa a revision specifically of this taxon has broad implications for systematics of eukaryotiv microorganisms in general. Adressing this issue, however, requires a concerted interdiciplinary effort which will be adressed in 4 working packages. We will analyse the habitat specificity of different lineages and analyse species discrimination based on morphological, molecular and experimental data. Based on these data we will describe approximately 20 new species and approximately 5 new genera of flagellates affiliated with the Spumella morphodeme as a basis for a revision of colourless flagellates affiliated with the chrysophycean C-cluster.