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Diversity of dictyostelid social amoebae in high latitude habitats of Northern Sweden

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Abstract

The dictyostelid social amoebae (Dictyostelia) occur in terrestrial habitats worldwide. It has been observed previously that their diversity decreases with increasing latitude and altitude. Here we look at dictyostelid diversity in the high latitude habitats of Northern Sweden. Dictyostelids were recovered from soil samples using traditional plating methods and then identified using morphological characters and molecular sequence (small subunit ribosomal RNA) data. In total, nine species were recovered, including two new species, described herein as Dictyostelium barbibulus and Polysphondylium fuscans. The species diversity found here is discussed in relation to previous findings in the area as well as other high-latitude studies, and biogeographical patterns are examined. The total number of species found in Northern Sweden is lower than the numbers recorded for regions further south in Europe, a finding consistent with a latitudinal gradient of species diversity. Our findings highlight the benefit of using molecular data for accurate species identification in Dictyostelia and the need for a continued sampling effort to better understand their diversity and distribution, especially in high latitude habitats.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mats Thulin for assistance with species descriptions. We would like to express our appreciation to the people at the dictyBase Stock Center (Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois) for maintaining dictyostelid voucher specimens, including those described in this paper. Financial support from the foundations Signhild Engkvists Stiftelse and Lars Hierts Minne to ALP is gratefully acknowledged. MR is supported by a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (PIEF-GA-2009-236501).

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  1. Program in Systematic Biology, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Center, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden

    Allison L. Perrigo, Sandra L. Baldauf & Maria Romeralo

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  1. Allison L. Perrigo
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  2. Sandra L. Baldauf
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Correspondence to Allison L. Perrigo.

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Perrigo, A.L., Baldauf, S.L. & Romeralo, M. Diversity of dictyostelid social amoebae in high latitude habitats of Northern Sweden. Fungal Diversity 58, 185–198 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-012-0208-3

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