Abstract
ABSTRACT Oman is a desert country in the south of the Middle East. Springs and other water sources that harbor aquatic organisms can be separated by hundreds of kilometers. In Oct 2019, we isolated four freshwater aquatic fungi (Chytridiomycota) from benthic detritus baited with pine pollen on a general nutrient medium near Salalah, Oman. Database queries of nuc 28S rRNA (28S) and internal transcribed spacer region ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS) revealed that one of these strains was Dinochytrium kinnereticum, a recently described algal pathogen from the Sea of Galilee. The other three strains had low molecular identity to available ITS sequences. These unknown strains varied in size and released endogenously swarming zoospores through papillae from mature zoosporangia. Zoospore ultrastructure was consistent with described species in the Rhizophydiales, and molecular phylogenetic results grouped these three strains into a clade in the genus Rhizophydium. We circumscribe these three strains as a sp. nov., thereby expanding the diversity within Rhizophydium described as the new species R. jobii. In doing so, we provide the first report of Chytridiomycota from Oman.
Highlights
Oman is situated in the southeast corner of the Arabian subcontinent
Sporadic rainfall and perennial springs fill permanent and ephem eral water sources, further elevating interests in diversity driven by allopatric speciation, especially among freshwater aquatic organisms
The first is the second report of Dinochytrium kinner eticum in the Chytridiales; the second, we describe as a novel species, Rhizophydium jobii in the Rhizophydiales
Summary
Oman is situated in the southeast corner of the Arabian subcontinent. The Arabian subcontinent was last con nected to Africa ~30 Ma, until the eventual formation of the Red Sea (Bohannon et al 1989). To the north of Oman and Yemen is the Rub’ Al Khali Desert (the Empty Quarter), which spans >600 000 square km of arid sand and dunes. The Arabian Sea sits to the south and east of Oman. As a result of its geographic position, the relative isolation of Oman renders it of potential interest for studies of allopatric speciation. Sporadic rainfall and perennial springs fill permanent and ephem eral water sources (wadis), further elevating interests in diversity driven by allopatric speciation, especially among freshwater aquatic organisms
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