Moramonas

The generic name Moramonas derives , meaning 'delay', 'pause', and , meaning 'unit', a common suffix for flagellates. The specific epithet marocensis refers to the country of its discovery, Morocco (). == Description ==

Morphology Moramonas marocensis is a species of jakobids, single-celled protists that move using two flagella and have a ventral groove for feeding on bacteria. Each cell is naked (without the lorica present in some other jakobids), elliptical, 7–13 μm long and 3–5 μm wide. They can form spherical cysts, 5–6 μm in diameter, with a smooth amorphous envelope surrounding them. The two flagella arise on the anterior side of the cell. The anterior one (13–14 μm long) propels the cell, which swims freely in a usually straight trajectory while rotating around its own axis. The posterior flagellum (16–22 μm long) undulates in the ventral groove and has a vane with striations; its role in cell movement is unclear. The posterior flagellum has a 2.5 μm long acroneme (visibly thinner tip). Its contractile vacuole distinguishes this species from marine jakobids, and it differs from the closely related Reclinomonas and Histiona by the absence of a lorica. Among all jakobids, the paranuclear body found in M. marocensis is only observed in Andalucia godoyi. Lastly, the presence of three spherical mitochondria is unique, as no other studied jakobids have three or more mitochondria. == Taxonomy ==

Moramonas marocensis was isolated from a sample of desert soil collected in 2007 near Zagora, Morocco, in a small valley separated from the Sahara by a mountain ridge. A phylogenetic analysis using the SSU rRNA gene showed that the organism belongs to the Jakobida. A multiprotein anlaysis confirmed it as the closest relative of a yet undescribed jakobid, known as ‘Seculamonas ecuadoriensis’, both forming the sister clade to Reclinomonas and Histiona, within the suborder Histionina. Due to the genetic distance between M. marocensis and all other jakobids, the family Moramonadidae was proposed to accommodate it. This family includes the species ‘S. ecuadoriensis’, which is still not formally described and may be eventually added to the genus Moramonas. }} == References ==