@article{Porfirio-Sousa:14956,
      recid = {14956},
      author = {Porfirio-Sousa, Alfredo L. and Tice, Alexander K. and  Morais, Luana and Ribeiro, Giulia M. and Blandenier,  Quentin and Dumack, Kenneth and Eglit, Yana and Fry,  Nicholas W. and Souza, Maria Beatriz Gomes and Henderson,  Tristan C. and Kleitz-Singleton, Felicity and Singer, David  and Brown, Matthew W. and Lahr, Daniel J. G.},
      title = {Amoebozoan testate amoebae illuminate the diversity of  heterotrophs and the complexity of ecosystems throughout  geological time},
      publisher = {PNAS},
      journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
      address = {USA. 2024-07},
      number = {ARTICLE},
      pages = {11 p.},
      abstract = {Heterotrophic protists are vital in Earth’s ecosystems,  influencing carbon and nutrient cycles and occupying key  positions in food webs as microbial predators. Fossils and  molecular data suggest the emergence of predatory  microeukaryotes and the transition to a eukaryote-rich  marine environment by 800 million years ago (Ma).  Neoproterozoic vase-shaped microfossils (VSMs) linked to  Arcellinida testate amoebae represent the oldest evidence  of heterotrophic microeukaryotes. This study explores the  phylogenetic relationship and divergence times of modern  Arcellinida and related taxa using a relaxed molecular  clock approach. We estimate the origin of nodes leading to  extant members of the Arcellinida Order to have happened  during the latest Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic (1054  to 661 Ma), while the divergence of extant infraorders  postdates the Silurian. Our results demonstrate that at  least one major heterotrophic eukaryote lineage originated  during the Neoproterozoic. A putative radiation of  eukaryotic groups (e.g., Arcellinida) during the  early-Neoproterozoic sustained by favorable ecological and  environmental conditions may have contributed to eukaryotic  life endurance during the Cryogenian severe ice ages.  Moreover, we infer that Arcellinida most likely already  inhabited terrestrial habitats during the Neoproterozoic,  coexisting with terrestrial Fungi and green algae, before  land plant radiation. The most recent extant Arcellinida  groups diverged during the Silurian Period, alongside other  taxa within Fungi and flowering plants. These findings shed  light on heterotrophic microeukaryotes’ evolutionary  history and ecological significance in Earth’s ecosystems,  using testate amoebae as a proxy.},
      url = {http://arodes.hes-so.ch/record/14956},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319628121},
}