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Symbiotic Foraminifera and Stress

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Symbioses and Stress

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 17))

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Abstract

Traditional systematic rankings in micropaleontology are based on the morphology, chemistry, and wall structure of the shell (“test”) that most foraminifers develop. Tests may be coiled and substructured in diverse complexity. Test walls are secreted and crystallized in meticulous arrangements, composed of organic matter, agglutinated with foreign matter, mineralized with calcite, aragonite, high-magnesium calcite, or silica. There are several thousand genera characterized by morphotypes (Loeblich and Tappan, 1988). They are unique among protists because they have branching and anastomosing networks of reticulopodia with rapid bidirectional transport of intracellular granules and membrane domains driven by specific tubulin assemblies. Many have life cycles that include a haploid sexually reproducing phase and a diploid asexually reproducing phase. Molecular genetic analysis revealed the early radiation of naked and single-chambered forms, and that the rotaliid and miliolid foraminifera are monophyletic (Pawlowski et al., 2003). Foraminifera (or Granuloreticulosea, see Lee et al., 2001) are considered a stand-alone phylum or First rank group within the eukaryotic Super-group Rhizaria at present (Adl et al., 2005). Classifications are still in transition, as shown by the addition of naked freshwater species, or abyssal giant Rhizaria formerly considered incertae sedis (Adl et al., 2005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, D-80333, Munich, Germany

    Alexander V. Altenbach, Christine Böhmer, Frank Gitter, Benjamin Läuchli & Hanne-Lore Wieczorek

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  1. Alexander V. Altenbach
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  2. Christine Böhmer
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  3. Frank Gitter
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  4. Benjamin Läuchli
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  5. Hanne-Lore Wieczorek
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Correspondence to Alexander V. Altenbach .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jerusalem, Mevo Hadas 20, Efrat, 90435, Israel

    Joseph Seckbach

  2. , Institute of Plant Sciences, Karl-Franzens-University, Holteigasse 6, Graz, 8010, Austria

    Martin Grube

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Altenbach, A.V., Böhmer, C., Gitter, F., Läuchli, B., Wieczorek, HL. (2010). Symbiotic Foraminifera and Stress. In: Seckbach, J., Grube, M. (eds) Symbioses and Stress. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9449-0_15

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