Morphology and phylogeny of the pseudocolonial dinoflagellates Polykrikos lebourae and Polykrikos herdmanae n. sp.

Both the photosynthetic and heterotrophic forms of the only known marine benthic (sand-dwelling) species of Polykrikos, namely P. lebourae, were investigated using light and electron microscopy and molecular phylogenetic analyses. The pseudocolonies usually contained eight integrated zooids and two nuclei. Pseudocolonies consisting of four or five zooids and one nucleus were observed for the first time for this species; some of these reduced pseudocolonies contained plastids, while others were heterotrophic and contained taeniocyst-nematocyst complexes. The ultrastructure of the plastids in P. lebourae did not conform to the organization of thylakoids and enveloping membranes present in the peridinin-containing plastids of other photosynthetic dinoflagellates (i.e. stacks of 3 thylakoids and 3 outer membranes). Instead, the plastids in P. lebourae had thylakoids arranged in pairs and appeared to be enveloped by only two membranes. Molecular phylogenetic data using small subunit rDNA demonstrated that the photosynthetic and heterotrophic forms of P. lebourae represent two distinct clades. The more inclusive clade containing both forms of P. lebourae was most closely related to heterotrophic polykrikoids, namely P. kofoidii. These results led us to conclude that the photosynthetic and heterotrophic forms of P. lebourae are in fact two distinct lineages, and the heterotrophic form is described here as Polykrikos herdmanae n. sp.